Leaves of Steel
by Johnhamsta
Summary: This time around, Naruto isn't a total idjit, and finds a different path in an odd stone, with a pale man responsible. Hinata is out for Tenten's life! Necromancy Abound! Story finished! NaruXTen, Naruto X Michael Moorcock's Elric Crossover...I guess...
1. Chapter 1

Hello, everyone, this is my first fan fiction, so, I would appreciate a sharp critique, but flames will be ignored, maybe even joked about. I've wracked my brain over this decision, and thought it over carefully. I will NOT write an overpowered piece, nor a silly one, as a first impression is key(taught to me by my business teacher). It is not my place to write lemons, nor is that my hobby, so ask not for this, for you will not receive. I apologize to any authors who believe I have stolen any of their work, as I frown upon plagiarism...

This is the revised version, with many spelling and grammar errors fixed. Thanks for letting me know I needed work! Most of the thanks goes to my dad, and his past history in writing.

I claim no ownership over Naruto, nor any of the characters associated with it, for if I owned Naruto, There wouldn't be fillers, neh? I also do not own any of the things I reference,like the Matrix. I only really only own my own mind...On with the story!

"Blah"-people talking...'Blah'-people thinking...**"Blah"**-Kyubi talking...**'Blah'**-Kyubi thinking

* * *

Leaves of Steel

* * *

It was a lonely day, as were all days for Naruto, waking up to an empty house, putting on ridiculous orange clothes, but only for the attention he wanted. He would wake up, get dressed, eat his morning ramen, the only food his stipend would allow, and brush his teeth in his yellowed bathroom. Showers, he took after school, as he would get sweaty, and didn't want to pay high water bills. 

Gathering his little used school supplies, he left his apartment, locking the door behind him. Trudging along his well-traversed path, he took careful watch not to run into anybody who hated him, as most of the village did, having just recovered from last night's travails. His path led him around the outskirts of town, eyes pointing daggers, glared through the back of his skull.

As he turned the fourth corner, he watched as Ino(a boy-obsessed kunochi-in-training) was kissed on the forehead by her mother, sending her off to her final day at the academy. Sakura(another boy-obsessed kunochi-in-training) received the same from her mother. They glared at each other. And, shoulder-to-shoulder, raced down the street. Both mothers looked displeased at the boy's presence, and went back inside their homes, their friendly homes, where they had people that cared for them.

Naruto's eyes turned down, as he walked onwards, academy in sight, as the lazy Nara Shikamaru walked up to him. "Ohayo, Naruto, enjoying the clouds?" the pineapple-headed boy asked sluggishly. Naruto's face brightened, as he activated the mask he used on all of the other students, his cheerful, care-free one.

"But, Shikamaru, there aren't any clouds out today..." Naruto responded cheerfully.

"Is that so? I haven't took the trouble to look up yet...wait, there's one, near the Hokage monument...a very black one..." The lazy boy said back.

Naruto's head swiveled to see that pineapple head was right, a large black cloud _could_ be seen, coming over the monument.

"Well, I was wrong...See you in class slacker!"Naruto called behind him as he ran to the academy, unaware that the Nara was saying "Speak for yourself, dead last..."

The blond-haired child quickly entered the academy, taking the aisle seat next to the brooding Sasuke.

"Hi, Mr. Smiles" Naruto mumbled, with the response being a muffled "dobe". The pink-haired girl sitting between them berated Naruto for mocking her precious Sasuke-kun, as the last of the students entered the classroom.

Naruto began to feign sleep, as he noticed Iruka enter, with Mizuki by his side, laughing about a joke the other had made just seconds before. "...Got any nails...that's priceless..."

They both straightened, and Iruka told the kids to settle down in a more "SHUT UP, INGRATES!" kind of way.

Naruto cocked his head to a mildly interested position, and listened as Mizuki re-re-re-explained the test to them all. 3 bunshin for one headband, woop-dee-doo. The genin were called up one after the other, until Uzumaki Naruto was called.

"Naruto, three Bunshin, go!" Iruka commanded, to which Naruto successfully made 2 and a dead one, better than either party expected. "Sorry Naruto, dead bunshin don't count...you fail..." Iruka said displeased.

Naruto hung his head and left the building to sit on the swing, all by his lonesome, as all the other kids were coddled by their parents for passing the academy. Mizuki approached him and, as all the kids left, so did Naruto...to steal the scroll.

* * *

----------------------------Later, in the woods of all places...---------------------

* * *

After studying up on kage bunshin, Naruto fell to the ground exhausted, with Mizuki fast approaching. "Yo kid, good job! Give me the scroll for your grade!" Mizuki demanded. 

Naruto was close to giving it to him as a kunai pierced Mizuki's leg, and Iruka jumped in, the two chunnin battling it out. "Naruto, give the scroll to Me, Mizuki wants to steal it! He is a traitor!" Iruka pleaded.

Naruto clutched the scroll tightly as he fell against a nearby tree, sobbing at the sight as one of the only three people that liked him was stabbed repeatedly into an adjacent one.

"Naruto, hand the scroll over now!" Mizuki demanded as the tear-stained boy stood up, forming the notorious hand seals of the shadow clone technique.

"No. You..you..die now..." the boy mumbled, red chakra flowing from his coils into the air surrounding him.

"Ha! Do you know why everybody hates you, why they view you as trash, kid?" Mizuki leered, "Because _you_ are the nine-tailed fox that attacked the village 12 years ago! Because _you_ contain that beast that killed their families and friends! Because _you_...".

Poor Mizuki didn't even have a chance. In fact, the last thing he saw was a glowing red hand right in front of his face, sticking through his throat.

"I know." Naruto was standing behind him...and in front of him...and to his left...and his right...above, and in a 340 degree semi-circle all around him.

Twelve minutes later, when Iruka awoke he saw a red puddle of Mizuki's blood and his body was nowhere to be found...but wait! What was this? There was a...leg...and over there was the other...a hand here, a finger there...what happened?

Iruka called out weakly "Naruto? Where are you?"

Naruto, bloodstained, was sitting against a tree, breathing heavily "Over here, Iruka-sensei! Are you okay?"

Iruka got up stiffly, limped over to Naruto, and, forgetting any stupid surprises he had planed, pulled a Hitai-ate out of his vest's pocket and tied it around Naruto's forehead with "You pass, Naruto" echoing through the boy's ears.

Naruto, incredibly surprised, formed a shadow clone so he could examine it's forehead.

"IpassedIpassedIpassedIpassedIpassedIpassed!" Naruto shouted, jumping up and down, his hands holding his shiny new insignia of rank.

----------------At Naruto's house---------------

Bingeing on Ramen had really caused Naruto to become restless, unable to sleep, so he decided to take a walk. Locking his door, Naruto stepped out into the street, and walked towards the Hokage monument. He ascended the steep steps, and stood atop the first Hokage's head and said "Better than you", moved onto the the second's saying the same, moved atop the sandaime's head, and said "definitely better than you, old coot!" and finally came towards the yondaime's head.

As Naruto approached, he saw the black cloud over it, which withdrew at an incredible speed towards the center of the head. Surprised, Naruto rushed towards the spot, and noticed nothing. He sat down at the spot, or as close as he could get, and stared out at the city, massaging his hitai-ate. Mumbling something about "Damn villagers" and "I'll show them". Suddenly, he stood up and shouted to the city "I AM UZUMAKI NARUTO, AND I WILL BECOME THE GREATEST NINJA THE WORLD HAS EVER KNOWN!!!". The only response was "SHUT UP, BRAT!!!".

As he sat down, he noticed a spiral in the stone, and traced it from the inside out, again and again, until he got bored and switched it up, jumping his finger every now and again, then stopping. He looked at the spiral, and then watched the sky, his finger now tracing inwards from the middle of the spiral. He repeated it, but did the full spiral from it's outward tip to the inward curl and spiked his chakra level, trying to make a crack in the stone.

Naruto felt a rumbling as his chakra was absorbed into the stone, and the spiral grew into a complete circle, Beginning to sink into the monument, all 3 meters across of it. It finally dropped all the way down and came to a rest, leaving Naruto in the dark. He used an academy katon jutsu on a collapsible torch he was apt to carry(sometimes his jerk of an apartment manager turned his lights off), and surveyed his surroundings. Naruto found himself in a stone chamber, with just a pile of stones visible.

Like any good ninja, Naruto stayed wary and circled the entire chamber; he had landed in the south side of the room, the stones were central in position and the chamber was sealed. Naruto approached the stones and was immediately drawn to the top one, completely silver with intense silver stripes spinning around from the top to bottom. Naruto checked for traps, couldn't find any, and picked up the orb.

The instant both of his hands were touching the orb, Naruto saw just black. He was in a circular chamber, with swirling purple and silver walls. He saw a fox in the middle staring into a swirling pool, silver and mysterious. With no sign that the fox was going to attack, Naruto sneaked forward.

** "Where did this come from, Naruto, why are we here? Why is this here? Tell me, tell Kyubi, do it now."** Naruto heard this voice coming from the fox, who seemed to be the legendary beast housed inside of him, the Kyubi no Yoko, the nine-tailed demon fox.

"You...you...you attacked..." Naruto stuttered, only to be interrupted by the demon fox

**"...attacked Konoha, yeah, that, whoops! Anyway, let's get back to this pool-thingy. What did you do this time, and why aren't you addressing me as Kyubi-sama, as is proper, mortal. Touch it, I dare you."**

Naruto said "sure, I'll touch it, oh mighty Kyubi-chansnicker"

**"Whatever... if you touch it for me and I WONT bite your head off, how 'bout that deal, Naruto?"**growled the Kyubi, baring his teeth. Naruto, obviously shaken(-2 to attack, -2 for all saving throws and checks... for anyone who cares...),_ needed_ to do as the Kyubi said, and did.

Lowering his hands to the surface of the pool, he slowly lowered them into the apparently cold...metal(?) and couldn't take them out. **"Yo, Naruto?"**,the fox asked **"Are you okay?"**

. Naruto uttered a weak "Well, Kyubi-chan, it wouldn't appear so. I'm stuck."

**"Oh, okay. Let me know when you get out. Try not to kill yourself, I'm taking a nap."**, the giant fox said, yawning.

Naruto was taken back, that the almighty Kyubi was so docile, moderately polite, and currently napping.

As he was currently thinking, the metal crawled up his arms, making him aware of that presence, and wondering what was going on, Naruto felt the metal completely cover his arms, and move on to the rest of his body, save his head. To say that this felt weird would be saying the least. Naruto could feel the Metal finish covering his body, and come up his neck. It went into his ears, down his throat, delved into his nosrtils, and finally. his eyes. He awoke in a hospital bed.

The hospital bed was warm, and he'd been there a good while, 2 days by the calender's count, and 12 hours by the clock's. "Naruto, you're awake!", an extremely distressed Iruka said, "What happened? I've been assigned to watch over you, and need to know!"

Naruto, hardly knowing said "I hardly know...". Iruka had an important question, "Naruto?" he asked, "Why were the nurses unable to stick an I.V in you?"

Naruto had no idea again, but he felt good so he got up, put on his pants and said, "Iruka-sensei, who cares? So they can't do an I.V...big whoop, I'm hungry."

* * *

-------------End of chapter one-----------------

* * *

You can't really call that a cliffhanger, because I'll update soon, and it was a good stopping point in the storyline. I was really tired. Please, Rate and review, be harsh, and I might listen to ideas you have, but only if they are good (contributors will be acknowledged). Have a decent time lapse before my next update. 


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for my First reviews, and remember, This is not of the ordinary kind of love story. You'll see...you'll all see...

Reviews are answered personally, and will only be included in the post if they are going to be incorporated in some way, shape, or form.

Due to the fact that this was my first fan fiction, editing has been done by my dad...I wuv him..Futhermore, as people have been complaining about a certain letter, it has been fixed to be more graceful.

Reviewers have been noted. Thank you Masked Critic, for your extra sharp critique, I'll be good from now on...I pwomise...Thank you vines-throughXfate, for your praise...Thank you the-eighth-sin, for being a NaruTen fan...And last but not least Thank you animeflunky for being my first reviewer. join them and review!(only current reviewers will be noted).

* * *

DISCLAIMER!!!! I don't own Naruto, any of the characters from it, nor any other source I reference. Credit will be given in parenthesis if I borrow an original idea, excepting the material relating to the question you will be asked... ON WITH THE SHOW! 

"Blah"-person speaking...'Blah'-person thinking...**"Blah"**-Kyubi speaking...**'Blah'**-Kyubi thinking

* * *

Leaves of Steel, Chapter 2

* * *

In Konoha Hospital

* * *

"Naruto!" shouted Iruka, as the boy searched for his gear, "Why aren't you answering me?" 

Naruto, ears ringing, retorted, "Because you won't believe me if I tell you!"

Iruka, who had always had Naruto's trust in the past, was saddened by the lack of faith. "Naruto..." sighed Iruka, "I won't tell anyone else, I just want to know why they couldn't stick an I.V into you...just tell me and remember, I am your friend."

Naruto sat back down on the bed and related the story to him, including the part with the Kyubi, as Iruka already accepted him for who he was.

"So the Kyubi acts like that, huh? Well, striking development, but in this case I think you should see the Hokage about the metallic substance, he's always there to help." Iruka told the story weary Naruto, who affirmed his sensei's request with a nod.

"Okay, Iruka-sensei, I'll talk to the old man when you let me go. And I don't want anyone except the Hokage to know, okay?"

"Sure thing Naruto." Iruka said with a grin.

Naruto jumped off of the bed and, pedal to the metal, floored it, speeding down the halls.

* * *

Hokage's Tower-Reception

* * *

"Anyone who wants a meeting with the Hokage must fill out this form, and be pre-approved by..." 

"...That's not necessary this time, my dear receptionist, Naruto has my permission to see me at any time." The Hokage interrupted the annoying receptionist, and waved Naruto through his door.

"Take a seat, Naruto-kun, what is it you want to tell me?" The Hokage said merrily.

"Well," Naruto said, "IfoundthidballandtherewastheKyubiandhewaslazyandkindaweirdsoIcalledhimKyubi-chan... andhegotmadandItouchedthismetalpoolthingyanditwentallupmyarmandstuffandIwokeup!" said Naruto, obviously talking a teensie bit fast.

"Calm down, Naruto-kun!... So you found a metal ball and you talked to the Kyubi?" the Hokage asked, startled.

"But that doesn't matter old man! The nurses couldn't stick the I.V-thingy in my arm and Iruka was worried. I think it has something to do with the metal pool..." Naruto retorted.

"Naruto, do you know what that metal ball was?" the Hokage asked in a very odd tone.

"No..." Naruto said slowly.

"That 'metal ball' was given to your f...ourth Hokage 'nice save there, Sarutobi!' by a man whom he helped seriously. That man was **very** pale, and carried a sword that even I was afraid of" (_a contest will be held at the end of the chapter to see who can correctly identify said man_) Sarutobi said, catching himself.

"His strength rivaled the Yondaime's, but the sword was turning on him, so the Yondaime sealed it inside of the orb, ridding it of evil, and sealed it away into the Monument, where it should never had been found, unless the Yondaime wanted it to be found by you, to make up for what he had to do to you." The Hokage stated

Naruto, I am willing to help you through this, but know this, that orb will never leave you, it will be either a curse or a blessing to you, as I am unaware of it's powers." Sandaime said in a very encouraging tone.

Digesting all of this information, Naruto cheered up instantly, "It could make me stronger!? If so I want to learn how to use it, teach me! Teach me!" He shouted.

The Sandaime sighed, "I'm afraid I can't, Naruto, as you have to figure it out for yourself. I'll do you a favor, to help you learn, make sure you attend the team arrangement tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay" Naruto responded, and walked out the door, to his house.

Sandaime looked into his crystal ball, at Naruto as he walked home, only to see a dull gray aura around him. "May Kami-sama help us Arashi, we are going to need it."

* * *

Approaching Naruto's House

* * *

As Naruto approached his home, he stared in awe at a small box on his front step. It had a ribbon on it. He walked towards it, held it up to his ear(to check for bombs of course), and upon finding none, glanced around and took it inside. Reaching his bed Naruto Uzumaki opened his first ever present. Finding a card inside of the orange wrapping paper, Naruto flipped it open and read: 

My dearest Naruto-kun,

I am glad you could succeed in passing, and...got you this present to celebrate. I hope you like it, and use it often.

From Your Biggest Fan

p.s. I am sorry if they aren't your size, I hope they fit!

Naruto wasn't a complete idiot, he knew who it was from...feminine handwriting... overly polite... lavender scented ink... had to be Shikamaru! Yep, definitely Shikamaru. Had to be. Couldn't be anyone else, Shikamaru all the way. Yep. I mean who else could it be?

Naruto opened the box to find a pair of incredibly dense and shining gauntlets. Kick-ass...They were inlaid with platinum etchings of spirals, and fit like a glove (pun intended). When they were on, he could touch perfectly, as the finger tips were made of a thin, strong metal fabric, knuckles spiked.

"YATTA! This is the best present ever! Thank you...person...?" Naruto yelled.

He took himself to bed, neglecting to take a shower or remove the gauntlets before he went to sleep.

When Naruto woke up in the morning, he figured out that he was still wearing the gauntlets. 'Whoops, forgot to take 'em off. Oh well, may as well intimidate the Uchiha, the stuck up jerk...' He made his morning ramen, miso flavored, and got his ninja gear on, forsaking the orange jumpsuit for blue pants and a white shirt with the Uzumaki spiral on the back, the gauntlets didn't work out to well with the jumpsuit. Naruto locked his door, leaving for the academy.

* * *

Last day at the Academy!

* * *

At the Academy, after enduring his daily glares from the populous of Konoha, he took his standard seat. 

A strange girl in the back thought 'He's wearing them! He's wearing them!', and promptly fainted onto the desk.

Shino Aburame slid away from the girl.

Naruto turned around at the noise. 'Oh it's just that Hinata girl, she does that all the time...weirdo...'

Iruka entered the room, drawing attention from everyone, a smile from Naruto. He smiled back. "Good morning class, you will now be assigned Jonin instructors, but, before you go, I want to say... it's been fun teaching you all, oh the good times we've..."

"Shut up Iruka!" shouted Kiba, "Just tell us our instructors already!"

"Fine, fine" relented Iruka, Listing off teams.

"Team 7, Uchiha, Sasuke...Haruno, Sakura...'BOOYAH!!!"...and Sai (Team seven isn't fun w/o Naruto, but Sai kicks ass)"

Team 8, Hyuuga, Hinata(who just woke up)...'Please Let Naruto-kun be with me'...Inuzuka, Kiba...and...'Naruto-kun, Naruto-kun, Naruto-kun!'...Aburame, Shino.'NOOOOOOO!!!!!'..." Hinata covered her eyes with her hands and began to cry softly(like I said, this one is not a NaruHina, but she is okay...)

"Team 9(I'm not going to list them as I don't know who they are) and Team 10, Nara, Shikamaru...Akimichi, Choji... and Yamanaka, Ino."

"Naruto-kun, please report to Training field 8 for your assignment." 'Dude, I don't have to be with the jerk or pinky. Sweet.', Naruto thought after being assigned by Iruka. Naruto left, giving Shikamaru a thumbs up, and headed for training field 8, just as instructed.

* * *

On the way, and at Training ground eight

* * *

When he arrived, he stood waiting at one of the many stone statues awaiting his sensei's arrival. As he waited he began to that sense that something was wrong. Held up his hands, made a couple of seals, and clearly stated "Kai" and immediately saw a man crouched in front of him, his hitai-ate covering his head, deep scars running along his face."Good job, you pass the first portion Uzumaki Naruto, now the second part is to introduce myself. My name is Morino Ibiki, Torture and interrogation specialist for Konoha's Anbu. Any questions?" Ibiki asked with a cold look in his eyes. 

"Only one Ibiki-sensei. Am I to be your protégé or something?" Naruto asked respectfully.

"The answer is yes, I will be your mentor, but I will also try to help you with your...issue." Ibiki calmly answered.

"OY! How did you know about the metal orb!? Did the old man tell you!?" Naruto asked incredulously.

"No, Naruto-kun. You just did. That is what I do for a living, make people give me information that I can use or give to others to help or hinder a mission. That is what interrogation is all about, information. I'll teach you the best I can, until you are better than me."

'Better than him?' Naruto thought, 'Am I going to replace him or something?'

Ibiki-sensei started again, "I want to talk to you about that orb. If it does what I would expect, based on the failed I.V, then we can assume you have either metal under your skin, as your skin, or are immune to metal. Time to find out which. This may hurt."

* * *

End of chapter 2

* * *

Moderate cliffhanger, but a cliffhanger none the less. Morino Ibiki is too awesome not to be Naruto's sensei, eh? Update will be friday, okay? My fast update rate leaves only the quality of the story in question, so Rate and Review, Flames will be ignored, Good Ideas Incorporated, and contributors mentioned in detail.

* * *

So now for the Question. Who is the Pale Man? The first Correct, non "anon" answer will receive not only an increased chance of idea acceptance, but a new reader, too. Valēte, omnēs! You may receive a hint after you make a guess in your review, unless you are right.  



	3. Chapter 3

Alright as of friday the 1st of December, 2006, 6:49, Nobody has successfully guessed the "pale man"'s identity. No, Not Orochimaru... No, not Seshomaru...No, not Sephiroth either...Nice guesses, but I cannot tell you until somebody gets it. Earn a clue by reviewing, or just win.

* * *

Reviewers have yet to submit a fun idea for me to play with, so nothing yet...

* * *

New reviewers include but are not limited to: vines-throughXfate(huzzah!)...Sasuketeme(love the name)...Brogramn...MingShun...LeweL...Lewel again...ClintonBradford(I actually know where you live...)...Quathis...Kyuubi no Shingami...the-eighth-sin(soul edge is gangster, but not the sword)...and Turok1(there are others, but the one I am talking about could kick sephiroth's $$...)

* * *

**Disclaimer**! I don't own Naruto, any of the characters from it, nor any other source I reference. Credit will be given in parenthesis if I borrow an original idea, excepting the material relating to the "pale man"...ON WITH THE SHOW!

* * *

"Blah"-person speaking...'Blah'-person thinking..."**Blah**"-Demon speaking...'**Blah**'-Demon thinking

* * *

Leaves of Steel, chapter 3

* * *

Training ground 8

* * *

Naruto backed away from Morino Ibiki-sensei, who had just threatened him with metal objects and his skin. "Ibiki-sensei...why do you want to test this out so badly?" Naruto asked, shaking.

"Hai, Naruto. I want to test your so called 'abilities'. This is the only way to see how to train you. Plus, if you could unlock the power I think you are leaving latent, then I might get a pay raise. I might be able to get a new T.V. or something. So if you do good, I'll treat you to...'what's that thing Iruka said he liked? oh yeah' ramen, okay?" Ibiki was using all he knew about Naruto to help both of them.

Naruto, easily baited by his favorite noodles, sat quietly with a smile on his face. "I like ramen! Test away Ibiki-sensei!" he said, grinning.

Ibiki pulled out three senbon needles and asked Naruto "Are you ready?"

Not waiting, or caring, for his response, he threw one straight at Naruto's right arm. The needle stabbed into Naruto's arm, all the way, but didn't come out the other side.

"Aaaahh! Ibiki-sensei! The needle! it hurt...wait...no it didn't..." Naruto screamed, and became puzzled at the needle's sudden disappearance.

He stared at his arm in puzzlement, and watched as the hole sealed itself. He could feel the needle become less solid, then vanish.

"Ibiki-sensei...It's gone...the needle melted or something..." Naruto said in disbelief.

"Naruto-kun, can you feel the needle anywhere in your body? If so, try to isolate it." Ibiki ordered.

"Hmmm...nope, I feel some weird stuff though...woah! I can make it move...kinda...it's hard." Naruto said, able to make the "weird stuff" move through his body slowly.

"Naruto-kun," Ibiki started, "could you possibly try to bring the "weird stuff" to your right index finger? I'll see if anything is happening." He said, holding Naruto's wrist inquisitively.

"I can try." said Naruto, focusing on his chakra, moving it against the "weird stuff" and pushing it through the tip of his right index finger.

The skin that made up the tip of his finger moved aside, to allow a small spike of solid metal through, It's size fluctuating with his chakra's ebb and flow.

"Naruto-kun..." Ibiki said, jaw wide open, "The metal of the needle came out through your finger, and appears to be changing rapidly." Ibiki said rather intelligently, quickly regaining his composure.

Ibiki wasted no time in shoving every senbon and kunai into Naruto's flesh. Naruto didn't feel a thing.

"Ibiki-sensei, did you just stab me repeatedly? I felt tha...tha...th..." Naruto's speech slurred, and he fell unconscious.

'Whoops, better get him awake, but first...' Ibiki pulled out a sketch book, and rapidly drew the Kunai sinking into Naruto's body. He pulled back the skin to observe the metal infusing into Naruto's body. The spike at his finger dispersed, and there was oddly no blood, only a metallic ooze.

'intere...!' Ibiki's thoughts were interupted by metal vines flying out of Naruto's open wound, and ripped it close. 'Holy crap.'

* * *

Tainig ground 8, 4 hours later...

* * *

Later, when Naruto woke up, he saw Ibiki assembling metal weapons all around him, from shuriken to iron shields, even a katana. Naruto felt fine, like he hadn't been stabbed at all. 

"Ibiki-sensei, what do you plan on doing with that metal?" Naruto asked, comfortable with his body.

"I plan on training your strength and endurance by weighing down your body from the inside. my discoveries about your powers have concluded at this: you appear to be able to absorb and control the metal both subconsciously and consciously, as well as immunity to metal. No physical changes other than that, though." Ibiki said to the blond-haired child.

"Aww...no cool hair or muscled build?" said Naruto, being ever so close to braking the fourth wall.

"You read too much manga, kid." Ibiki retorted.

Naruto tried to get up, feeling incredibly heavy. He tried to move the metal he could feel all throughout his body, and relied on that instead of his bones and muscles.

"Alright..." Naruto said shakily, as he rose to his feet.

"Naruto, Your first test is to block a katon jutsu that I am going to throw at you sometime during the next thirty seconds, understand?" Ibiki said quickly.

"Hai, Ibiki-sensei." Naruto said, as Ibiki turned away.

" Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!!!! Ibiki called out

Time slowed to a crawl as the massive fireball moved closer and closer to Naruto. 'Crap I'm going to die! KYUBI! I NEED YOUR HELP!'

* * *

Naruto's mind

* * *

'Kyubi isn't here right now, but I shall aid in his stead.' A voice, as dark as the Abyss Naruto knew so well, a voice, that called out to him, like a beacon. 

Vast amounts of metal exited Naruto's body, forming into a shield that deflected the Fireball and Immediately wrapped around Ibiki's body, covering all but the head. Naruto's gauntlets sent out waves of metal up naruto's arm, forming into full arm gauntlets, spiked and black, with a pure black aura.

'Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!' The voice echoed In Naruto's mind, forcing the gauntlets open hand to close slightly.

CRRAAK! Ibiki's arm shattered. "AAAGGHHH!! NARUTO! STOP THIS! STOP THIS!!" Ibiki screamed in pain.

'I said KILL HIM!' the voice shouted again.

'I won't Kill him! I...WON'T!' Naruto's resolution easily dispelled the metal, pulling it back into his body, the gauntlet gave up their size, the excess metal returning to Naruto's arm.

Ibiki fell to the ground with a thud. His right arm's lower half looking pretty messed up. Naruto ran over to him, and made a metal splint, resetting the broken bones with a snap. "I'm sorry Ibiki-sensei, there was a voice that helped me deflect your jutsu, but it almost took over. I'm so sorry" Naruto said, tears rolling down his face.

"ah...N-Naruto, get me to the hospital, I need medical attention. NOW!" Ibiki shouted.

"Before you ask, Naruto, " said Ibiki, being carried by 2 shadow clones. "You are forgiven, I shouldn't have tested you like that, I was being too hasty in testing your abilities. My fault." he finished with a pained laugh.

Naruto gave out a singular laugh, and his face turned towards the ground. "But now...you'll never accept me as your apprentice, will you..."

"That's not true Naruto!" shouted Ibiki, "As you interest me, with your powers. I am used to pain, I didn't get to be a torture and interrogation specialist without some broken bones. I am going to mentor you, wether you like it or not."

"You mean it!? You'll still teach me, even after all of that? You rock!" exclaimed Naruto vigorously.

Naruto carried his sensei to the hospital, unaware of the presence in his body.

* * *

Naruto's mind, Kubi's cage.

* * *

'I should have taken the man's soul sooner. I need to be free. First a sword, then a sphere, now a kid, what next? A nine-tailed fox? I don't think we'll be seeing him EVER again, will we?' the voice said to itself, a evil laughter ringing through Naruto's mind.

* * *

End of chapter 3

* * *

Well, then... It would seem we now have a greater need to identify the pale man, don't we? If you find out the answer, you've done good. I WILL NOT reveal the identity of the pale man until someone figures it out. The story will go slowly, and may be confusing until then. So do your research!

Rate and Review, Flames will be ignored, Good Ideas Incorporated, and contributors mentioned in detail! I'm going to publish the next one on wednesday, a bigger lapse. Sorry for the lateness of this one. Valēte omnēs!


	4. Chapter 4

Here we are again, monday as promised, meeting for the unveiling of my fourth chapter. First to address some issues...

Guessing ended, and the winners are...1st place, LeweL...2nd place...the-eighth-sin. 3rd place goes to Angelic.Dark.

Congrats! sorry to all those who guessed: Orochimaru, Seshomaru, Sephiroth, Kain, or Siegfried. The biggest error is that, in their respective games, or anime, the characters are villains. (Kain is an anti-hero) All of these guesses were wrong.

Too many reviewers...I love it...but if you want them listed, just click on reviews.

* * *

Disclaimer! I don't own Naruto, any of the characters from it, nor any other source I reference. Credit will be given in parenthesis if I borrow an original idea, excepting the material relating to the "pale man" until the end of the chapter (unless you are a cheater, don't look yet)...ON WITH THE SHOW! 

"Blah"-person speaking...'Blah'-person thinking...**"Blah"**-Demon speaking...**'Blah'**-Demon thinking

* * *

Leaves of Steel, Chapter 4

* * *

Naruto's Mindscape

* * *

An eerie silence spread throughout Naruto's mind. Where there was once the pacing of furred paws, there was nothing. Where, once, you could hear a breathing, dark and heavy, a curtain of deafening lay across. Where you could view the massive Kyubi in all of it's magnificence, there were a few strands of dark fur.

'**One down...eight to go...until...all... me breaks loose...**' A voice could be heard, resonating within the broken cage, echoing off of the blood stained walls.

* * *

Konoha Hospital

* * *

Naruto dispersed his shadow clones after delivering his sensei to the emergency ward of the Konoha hospital. The boy sat in silence as Morino Ibiki gave him a reassuring smirk, being wheeled away, to have his broken arm set.

'I need to see Hokage-sama, really badly...' thought the boy, after breaking his sensei's right arm.

* * *

En route to the Hokage's residence

* * *

Naruto slowly plodded his way to the Hokage's home, as his only console came from the cold rain, dripping down from his hair onto his face, reminding him that he was still alive. The icy wind nearly froze the drops before they could reach his face. The darkened sky began to let loose it's fury, as even the clouds wept for the boy's predicament.

Sure, Ibiki would teach him, but that didn't change the fact that something inside of him made him do it.

'Surely," the boy thought, "if I get stronger, I'll be able to control my...power. But...I'm wet, and need to get to the old man and ask him for help. I don't want to hurt anybody else that cares for me.'

"Yo! Kid!" a voice called out from the shadows. A body spinning a single kunai seeming to be the origin advanced toward him, putting it's kunai away. "Haven't I seen you before? Aren't you that one they call "dead last", that Uzumaki Naruto?" A shadowed body asked him.

"Yeah," Naruto responded, "who wants to know?" he asked sullenly.

"Umm...It's me, Tenten, from one year ahead of you. I thought you'd be friendly, but NOOOO...you just have to be all mean and stuff" the girl responded, stepping out into the light of the flickering street lamp, revealing her trademark buns.

"I'm sorry, Tenten-san, I just broke my instructors arm..." He responded, letting out facts left and right.

"Wow, that is a new way to start off a conversation, wanna talk about it?", Tenten asked, bored.

"Not really, I have to talk to the Hokage about it first. So...oh crap! The old man is going to go to bed any second now! I have to go, Bye!" He shouted, unsure of the girl.

"Can't even hold a conversation, geez." the girl said to herself.

* * *

Hokage's residence 1:27 AM

* * *

Naruto ran up to the Hokage's door, only to be stopped in his tracks by an Anbu.

"What do you want, brat? The Hokage is sleeping! Come back in the morning!" the Anbu snapped, obviously not fond of the boy's presence.

"But it is urgent! I nee-" Naruto tried to say, cut off by the Hawk-masked Anbu.

"COME BACK TOMORROW." the Anbu said sternly, using a gentle wind jutsu to push Naruto away, so as not to be charged for assault on the Kyubi-brat.

Naruto landed on his ass, 10 meters away, and stormed off to his apartment, hopefully not vandalized today.

* * *

Naruto's Apartment

* * *

When he got there, he was ever so ecstatic about the graffiti on his house, covering the entire door, that had many kunai thrown in it. As Naruto reached to pick them out, they slipped out of his grasp, clattering to the floor.

'This is not worth my time, I'm too tired to care' the blond haired havoc-bringer thought weakly, as he pulled himself inside and pulled off his torn-up jacket and pants. The dream state called, and he answered, falling into it's warm embrace.

As he was slipping into sleep, he heard a voice saying "Come hither, young child with eyes of the sea and hair of the sun...come to me..."

* * *

Melnibonian Dreamscape

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes to find himself in a stone chamber, not dark and gloomy, but light, and filled with the beams of the sun. A lone throne was visible, and on it sat a man with hair the color of fresh milk, and skin matching it, so pale, yet so breathtaking. His face was gaunt, yet somehow full to the brim with life. His robes were flowing, an equal color to that of his skin and hair. The very room he sat in was compiled of ivory, stone, and tome upon tome of books. 

"I am truly sorry for the situation you are in, all because of my sword..." He said, his voice like a song, ringing, yet not faltering at any point.

"I don't know what is happening to me! I have something in my mind! It is attacking the people that care for me! What is this sword you speak of!?" The boy said angrily, his eyes flaring a sharp blue.

"Now, now, young ninja, this is not a time for anger. My name, Is Elric, Elric, rightful king of Melnibonē. My sword was sealed into the orb you laid hands on, and somehow transferred to you." Elric said, in the most calming of tones he could muster.

"Is the sword the one doing these bad things, Elric-sama? Can you help stop it?" The boy asked, fear in his eyes.

"Elric will do just fine, and yes, I am afraid that this is entirely the doing of the sword. Tell me..." the albino said, his mind temporarily sending out a pulse in Naruto's direction, "Naruto is it? Tell me...what do you know of gods?" He inquired, with a hand motioning Naruto closer.

Naruto stood up, walked towards the man, and sat down in a nearby chair. "Elric," he began, "I don't really know anything about gods, other that they have unmeasurable power. What does the sword have to do with gods?" He asked.

"Naruto, what would you say if I told you that you, at this moment, are containing a god that has destroyed all of existence, the god of the void, that was sealed by Mabelode, the God of swords, into the most powerful weapon the world ever known. This sword, which I used to wield, has the unfortunate tendency of attempting to kill all those you have ever loved. This sword, now in your mind, still contains that god, and still seeks what it was created from...absolute chaos." Elric said in a sweet monotone.

"I would say you are crazy" Naruto said, laughing.

"I am afraid that I am not. You, Naruto, have been charged with the duty of destroying that accursed sword, which cannot be destroyed." Elric said, while, proposing a conundrum.

"But, if I cannot destroy it..." Naruto said slowly.

"Then I will teach you how." Elric said, finishing Naruto's sentence for him, "I will teach you how to control the sword, and how to use your new powers, for I am Elric, the only on to ever best Stormbringer, the god of the void, the one who now resides in your mind. I will come to teach you these things, so you will have to wait, so until then, I must free the sword from your mind, before it kills you and gains it's freedom. Once I do this, you will be forced to keep the sword, as it will never leave you." The albino said, in a sad tone.

"It...will...kill me?" The boy stuttered.

"Yes Naruto, If I don not rid your mind of it, you will die. The reason that it will never leave you is that it can only be sealed into a sword, which you are lacking. I must seal it into your body, instead of your mind. are you okay with this Naruto, I can only ask once." The sword's bane asked.

"I...I...I accept, Elric, Get it out of my mind!" Naruto screamed.

The sorcerer smiled, and muttered incantations, bathing the room in the purest light.

"Hang on until I can help you, Naruto. Hang on..." The white weird's voice faded, as did the chamber, and Naruto was dropped into a mass of solid black.

* * *

The Void

* * *

Naruto was floating in the darkness, until he heard a voice emanate from all around. 

**"I look forward to killing with you, child, then I look forward to killing you."**those were the last words Naruto heard before he woke in his bed, a burning sensation on his forehead.

* * *

Konoha

* * *

Naruto moaned in pain, as he stood up and stumbled to the mirror. The blond-haired container screamed as he saw a seal of a twisted sword, surrounded by four crescent moons cut through the seal that the yondaime placed on him as a baby, overlaying the seal, and sending red and blacks sparks out of his stomach's skin as the old seal shattered. 

The Hokage woke with a start, as he hastily put on his old ninja robes, and alerted the Anbu that the fourth's seal broke, and they all must meet at Naruto's apartment.

'Wait for me Naruto, don't die!' Sarutobi thought, as he used a teleportation jutsu to disappear in a burst of spinning leaves, to reappear at Naruto's apartment, where he kicked down the door.

"Naruto!!" the hokage called, as he and his Anbu raced towards the boy's room.

They found Naruto lying face-down in a pool of swirling grey chakra. Sarutobi flipped the boy over, to find a missing seal, and an unconscious boy.

* * *

Konoha Hospital's Heavy-security Facility

* * *

Naruto woke up in Konoha's hospital, in a heavily padded room, restrained by steel bars, sealed with strengthening seals. Sarutobi sat next to him. concerned for his young genin.

"Naruto, I have bad news, worse news, and good news. which would you like to hear first?" the third hokage asked nicely.

"I'll take them in order of worst to best, old man." Naruto croaked.

"Ibiki-sensei is...dead." the Third said solemnly.

"Nani!?" Naruto couldn't believe it.

"Naruto, the sword inside of you managed to land a cutting blow on Ibiki when it broke his arm. Since the wound was small, the effects were slow, but took place, in the wound of a size comparable to a paper-cut. It...sucked out his soul...and...we were unable to find any of the muscle memory associated with all jutsu he had. his brain was also completely wiped." The Hokage said, hanging his head at the loss of his most trusted interrogator.

"That was the worst news. The bad news is that we found the seal of the sword on your stomach, and are unaware of it's effects, but, as this has no visible effect on your well-being, we are going to let you go." Sarutobi said hopefully.

"The good news is that, based on multiple Hyuuga investigations, we have come to the conclusion that the kyubi is gone, as are the marks on your face. It's massive chakra stores remain, and fully incorporated themselves in your coils." said Sarutobi, trying to instill a sense of strength into the boy.

"But, Naruto...we also have very...odd news. Your entire body has been completely laced with metal, even replacing your skin, but retaining the texture. The chemical compound is one of an unknown nature, but stronger than any metal we know of. Something has happened to your chakra systems, they have been entirely re-constructed. We don't know what this will do to your jutsu...capa..." Sarutobi's words began to mumble as Naruto fell back into sleep.

* * *

End of Chapter 4

* * *

The pale man is Elric of Melnibone, The most powerful Melnibonian in history, cursed by the power of the god-sword, Stormbringer. The curse has been pased on, let's see how capable the new holder is. If you have any questions about Elric or Stormbringer, PM me.

Please Rate and Review! Thanks for reading! (chap 5 will be up friday or something...)

-Johnhamsta


	5. Chapter 5

Alright! Chapter 5! There are some things we need to address though...

First of all... Anon reviewer: T.O.B...WHAT THE HELL? You said, and I quote...

"so this good kill kyuubi

this other good kill the fist good and naruto has the power of kyuubi and this sword"

First of all, Stormbringer, a God, appears to have vanquished Kyubi, in the equivalent of 3 days and 8 hours...

Secondly, The God of swords sealed Stormbringer, you can't Kill a God that easily.

Thirdly, Naruto has Kyubi's CHAKRA, not his powers, and Naruto does not posses Stormbringer, only his Evil abilities.

* * *

Anyways, Thanks to all my reviewers, Including hoyt, who brought up the coating issue...Naruto's cells are lined with metal, so his body reacts that way. His nerve endings are metal-free, so the chemical signals can pass. The metal around these cells becomes more dense, but is easily converted to a liquid-metal substance for rapid transportation.

* * *

Let us have a moment of silence for Morino Ibiki...Moment's Over! ON WITH THE SHOW! 

"Blah"-person speaking...'Blah'-person thinking...**"Blah"**-Demon speaking...**'Blah'**-Demon thinking..."_Blah"_-Memory speaking(they don't think)

* * *

Leaves of Steel, Chapter 5

* * *

Naruto's mindscape

* * *

The inside of Naruto's mind had grown more twisted since he last saw it. Mental figments and memories had become dark and eerie, currently playing out a medieval siege. His good memories, the few he had, were under siege by his bad ones. 

As the blond-haired child made his way to the castle, in all of its brain-shaped splendor, he fell witness to every single bad memory laying down their weapons and bowing to him.

_"Naruto...remember me?"_ one of the grotesque skeletons asked, _"I am that one time when those villagers stabbed you, you know, with those broken bottles? Wanna see?"_ it asked coyly.

"No...It's okay...I have to get to that castle..." The scared boy said, trembling.

_"Suit yourself..."_ it said, an eerie grin on its face.

The skeletons made way for Naruto, a path began to become visible, strewn with broken bones and splintered skulls. Naruto followed the path, an unknown force pulling him along it.

As he came to the gleaming white castle, its walls covered with burn marks and crumbling stone, he noticed a small door open.

_"Naruto-sama, in here! Hurry!"_ a faint voice squeaked.

Naruto rushed inside the door, to find himself face-to-face with a little bunny-rabbit.

_"No time to explain, Naruto-sama. I am the memory of chasing rabbits in the park, and I need you to come with me to see the commander!"_ the small mammalian figment spoke.

It jumped up and grabbed his hand, hopping down the corridors with Naruto in tow. As he was being dragged, Naruto noticed injured memories, their wounds and missing limbs slowly regenerating. Every one he passed looked at him with a bright smile. He approached a large room, overlooking the side of the walls, a figure, white and oddly-textured stood, watching the advancing forces of skeletons, a dark cloud in the distance.

_"Do you see them?" _ the figure asked in a rough, masculine voice, _"They bear the insignia of the sword, it sent them to devour our final stand, the Cranial Castle. We have long battled against minor detachments of these memories, but never this much..." _ The figure said as it turned around.

"Y...Y-yond-aime...?" the bewildered child stuttered, "Is that you!?"

_"Yes Naruto-kun, I lead your good memories, as their commander, as their king. The reason for this is the fact that I am the strongest desire you have. To become the world's greatest shinobi!" _Figment Yondaime exclaimed, with every other figment in the room raising their right fist in unison.

"But, If you are the Yondaime, how come you can't just whoop 'em all? I mean, you are the most powerful..." the blond-haired nut-case said.

_"The stronger the memory, the closer it must stay to the core of the castle, such as how to breathe and all that..._" the figment said. _"No time for that, though, Do you see that cloud...again? That one that went back into the statue? Well, that is Stormbringer's physical form, as of now, but has grown after it devoured two souls. The more souls it gets the bigger it becomes, but loses size and power when you use its energy, as well as when you don't use it. This energy corrupts you, and brings out your rage, causing you to lose control. Whenever it takes a soul, it transfers some of the soul energy to you, healing you and completely resting you. The sword has no need for chakra, so all of that goes to you."_ The figmental Yondaime finished his longwinded speech.

"So...I have Ibiki's chakra?" The boy asked, heavy-hearted.

_"Yes, and he lives on inside of you...as all of his memories are now yours, all of his techniques, all of his skills. You are Naruto, and you are Ibiki. You have all of his memories, good and bad. Every time you do this, you become a little more them. Their DNA is mixed with yours, the best parts stay. Like Ibiki's resistance to torture. And the Kyubi's resistance to fire." _Said the memory Yondaime, in a very informed manner.

Naruto started dancing around, signing, "Can't touch this...with fire!" over and over again, until the rabbit he met earlier tripped him.

_"Naruto, one other thing."_ the Figment version of the fourth said, _"You can, in here, every night, KILL your bad memories, before they kill us. If you do this, your chakra will become more controllable. Help us!" _The Yondaime pleaded, before Naruto woke up.

* * *

Konoha hospital, recovery wing

* * *

He was lying in the hospital bed, just a standard one, staring up at a very familiar ceiling. He jumped out of bed, and put on his all black clothes, they were all he had left, so he needed more. He left the room and went to check himself out of the hospital, when he noticed a strange girl following him, hiding from his view. 

"Hinata!" he said loudly, "I know you are there, if you have something to say, come out and say it!" He said firmly, figuring out it was Hinata from the way the girl blushed when he said her name.

"S-sorry, N-naruto-kun! I-I-I...ju-st wan-wanted t-to know i-if you were al-alright..." The pale-eyed Hyuuga stuttered.

'Why does she always stutter around me?' The boy thought, 'Must be a speech impediment...what a weirdo...' "Oh, okay Hinata, I'm fine, gotta go!" he shouted behind him as he ran off towards the receptionist's desk, unaware of Hinata's predictable faint.

* * *

Konoha Hospital, reception

* * *

"Hello..." said Naruto fearfully, as the receptionist always had hated him. 

"Naruto!" the receptionist sad happily, "It's great to see you! Sorry for being such a bitch the entire time you've known me!" She said as she gave him a hug. "Checking out?" She asked.

Naruto was in shock, Some one was actually nice to him. 'Must be that they know the Fox is gone...Sweet, maybe I can finally get some respect around here...' he thought before responding with a "Yes, yes I am" and a smile.

* * *

Konoha

* * *

As he walked out into the street, he noticed people coming up to him and telling him they were sorry, even the ones who had attempted to kill him, plus a couple Anbu. He went to a clothing shop, to buy some new duds, figuring they wouldn't throw him out this time. He didn't know how right he was. 

Turns out it seemed to be "give stuff to Naruto for free" day. He went in, they exchanged some apologies and hugs, and he came out thirty minutes later with a new set of clothes.

He was wearing his gauntlets, new matching metal boots, black pants with imprinted kunai on them, and a shirt, personalized, with a detailed picture of the Nine tails on it, crossed out with a big "no" sign.. His headband was still around his forehead.

His next stop was the weapons shop, where he could probably get free stuff too.

He was right, and as he walked in, The owners started giving him stuff, with those same "sorry"s as everyone else. Tenten, who turned out to be the daughter of the owners, walked in.

"Yo Naruto-kun, the Hokage made an announcement to the town that the kyubi was sealed inside of you, but is now gone. Everyone was all 'Yay! Now we can be nice to him, instead of him wanting to kill us and stuff!'...I had the fox thing figured out when I saw you. I mean, who has freaking whiskers!?" Konoha's weapon mistress in training stated.

"Tenten, that was kinda mean...I had to grow up with abuse all my life, don't make a fucking joke out of it!" The blue-eyed kid said angrily.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Naruto-kun, I'll make it up to you, wanna go train or something?" Tenten asked sweetly.

"Sure, I'd love to!" the boy said, while thinking 'Is this a date or something from her viewpoint?' as he walked off with her, a bounty of weapons in his hand.

He got a set of kunai, exploding tags, and a book on sealing, and a butt-load of blank rippable scrolls. He picked out one, and expertly made some incredibly advanced runes, ripping the piece out.

"Naruto-kun, How did you do that!?" Tenten asked, "I didn't know you knew how to make magnet tags!"

Naruto was shocked, he didn't even think what he was doing. He needed an excuse, and got a good one. "Ibiki-sensei taught me this before he...passed away..." Naruto said with a sad face, but making an undetectable Lie, as Ibiki's memories were erased from Ibiki's body.

"I'm sorry about your teacher, Naruto-kun, he was a great man." Tenten said reassuringly.

"Yeah, yeah he was." Said Naruto, a smile appearing on his face.

* * *

Training ground 7

* * *

They came to training ground 7, and Naruto began to flip through some hand seals. 

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" he shouted, his teacher's move blazing through his mind.

Tenten braced for the worst, only to see nothing come out of Naruto's mouth. she walked up to him, and poked him in the forehead. "You can't do that? Why did you try?" she asked,

"But.." Naruto said, "I used to be able to do it..."

* * *

End of Chapter 5

* * *

Cliff hangers are fun... 

Why can't Naruto perform the jutsu!?

find out when I feel like updating

I'm not hating on Hinata, just poking fun at her, she could use it.


	6. Chapter 6

Alright, 6th chapter!

So far, I've been getting mostly praise, so that is good, it is nice to be an entertainer.

* * *

To Meca Vegeta, I'm not going to have Hinata "shake her can", but...well...no...we couldn't do that, who would clean up the mess?

* * *

Disclaimer! I don't own Naruto! Oh noes! I also don't own Elric...cries 

ON WITH THE SHOW!

"Blah"-person speaking...'Blah'-person thinking..."**Blah**"-Demon speaking...'**Blah**'-Demon thinking..."_Blah_"-Memory speaking(they don't think)

* * *

Leaves of Steel, Chapter 6

* * *

Water Country's easternmost shore

* * *

The loud sounds of hoofbeats could be heard, hitting the planks of the boardwalk, Clop...Clop...Clop...Clop...Clop... This is what the bandits, waiting in secret, heard.

"Hey guys, remember, surprise attack, jump 'em and take the valuables, okay?" The obvious leader asked in a hushed tone.

"Hai, Ika-sama!" the henchmen whispered in response.

The bandit gang jumped out from their hiding spot, swords drawn, in a very threatening manner.

"GIVE US YOUR MONEY AND VALUABLES OR DIE!" They shouted in unison.

The poor, defenseless man was _very_ frightened. It took all he had to _not_ wet his pants. I mean, what could he do except mutter a few words, and conjure up a couple giant venomous wasps on these bastards? He did just that, and listened to their final cries of pain before the venom dissolved them, and the wasps disappeared.

'Foolish humans! None can stand against the mighty Elric! Nocoughone!' He thought while coughing.

Elric was riding a mighty warhorse, specially bred to be able to heal itself using arcane magic. It was a dusty brown, with white hair, most of it shagging around his ankles and mane.

His rider, on the other hand was Elric. Thin, sickly, and incredibly pale. He wore a long flowing white cape, with his equally white hair blowing in the wind. His magic was still flowing, and you could see a wispy dark red trail of smoke leading to his hand, being slowly blown by the breeze.

The effect this had was breathtaking, he looked like a skeleton, yet somehow complete, hands glowing, holding on to the bit's strap, remaining as upright as he could.

"Well then, Kawska, my handsome steed, let us go." he said, nudging the horse's side.

* * *

Back in training ground seven

* * *

Naruto went through every jutsu he knew, none of them worked, not even his trusted Shadow Clone.

"NOOOOO! " shouted Naruto, "Tenten! I can't use my jutsu!"

Tenten was puzzled. She'd watched him perform jutsu before, why couldn't he? "Naruto-kun?" She asked, "Do you need help?" She asked, quite politely.

"Yes! Yes I do!" Shouted Naruto, but then calmed down, "could you help me, Tenten?" He asked with puppy dog eyes.

"Umm...sure Naruto-kun, I'll help...I think..." She said, thinking 'well, This sucks, I wanted to see his jutsu...oh well...'

* * *

Mean while, really, REALLY close to Training ground 7...

* * *

'How dare she call him "Naruto-kun"! That is my job! My Naruto! Mine!' A certain crazy lavender eyed girl thought, before thinking, 'While he was in the hospital, I stared at him, while he slept...I also...mmmmm...' and passed out.

* * *

Back at Training ground 7, bout 2 hours later...

* * *

"Well, as far as we know, you don't have any jutsu, but you have chakra." Tenten said, after running several tests on the blond-haired genin.

"Yeah, that sucks." Naruto said, pouting, while thinking, 'At least she doesn't know about the metal control, let's keep it that way'.

"Well, Naruto-kun, I have to go meet up with my team, so bye!" She said, giving him a soft, quick hug, then running off.

'Dude!' he thought, blushing a tiny bit, 'Awesome!'

Naruto wondered what to do before he decided on heading to the Hokage's tower. 'Maybe the old man will know what happened...this really blows...' Naruto thought.

* * *

Hokage's Tower

* * *

Naruto came up to the receptionist, and _asked_ for an audience for the Hokage.

"Naruto-kun," The receptionist said with a smile, "go on in."

As Naruto came into the dark room the lights suddenly turned on, and people came out from everywhere with party hats, shouting, "SURPRISE, NARUTO-KUN!!!"

Naruto fell down backwards, only to be caught by a giggling receptionist. Confetti was falling from the ceiling, with all the clan heads, and their children there.

The only of the rookie nine not in attendance was Sasuke. Even team Guy had shown; Neji with the closest he could get to a smile, a smirk, Lee with a 'super Youthful' (as he had put it during the party) smile, larger than his foot. Tenten was smiling happily, and being unusually friendly.

Off in the corner Hinata could be seen, fantasizing about Naruto, and not doing anything that would actually lead to the completion of that goal. 'Naruto-kun, yes, I'd love to marry you...and then I jump on him, and then...' Naughty thoughts for such a proper girl.

It was a great time, but not only did Naruto not have a chance to talk to the Hokage about his jutsu problems, he was pretty sure someone slipped something into his drink, so he set it down.

'Damn it!' thought Hinata, 'I just wanted...' she trailed off, pressing her fingers together like mad.

Naruto was fully aware of her, 'What a weirdo...'.

* * *

Back to Naruto's Apartment

* * *

When the party finally ended, it was too late for Naruto to talk to the Hokage, so he left to go home. A certain Pale-eyed girl was stalking him, but as she had practice in this, was not caught.

'Just wait Naruto-kun!' she thought, 'soon my second dose will start working, then you will be...MINE!' Her heart racing, Hinata almost stumbled over a cat, but knocked it out instead, so it wouldn't ruin her plan with noise.

Naruto finally made it to his apartment, but couldn't find his keys, he was too dizzy from the party, or that's what he thought. He decided to try something he just thought of, and lifted his finger to the lock. Focusing, Naruto drew metal out of his hand, and into the lock. The metal took the lock's shape, and fit like a glove.

Unaware that the Hyuuga was watching with her Byakugan, Naruto turned the self-made key, and unlocked the door.

'Naruto-kun! How did you do that?' She wondered, as Naruto pulled his hand back, and metal returned into his finger, after he swirled it around for fun a couple times.

'Naruto-kun! If you can control metal...aa...we...we could...and then...we could...while you and I...mmmmmm!!!' Hinata was thinking those perverted thoughts before she fainted for about 5 minutes, dreaming about the same things, before getting up and heading home, Naruto's house key in her pocket.

Naruto fell onto his bed after a shower, and fell into slumber-land yet again.

* * *

Naruto's Dreamscape

* * *

When he opened his eyes, he was in the large chamber of the castle of the good memories, back where he was last time.

_"Naruto-sama! You're back!"_ said the bunny Naruto had met last time. _"Are you going to help us defeat the increased force of bad guys? Ibiki-san's good memories, as well as your memories of Ninjutsu and __Genjutsu have been taken hostage by Ibiki's bad memories!"_ the rabbit explained to Naruto.

"Yeah! I need those memories! What is the plan so far?" Naruto inquired of the bunny.

_"I'll explain that, Naruto."_ said the figment of Yondaime, _"We need you to go out and destroy as many skeletons, your bad memories, and zombies, Ibiki's bad ones, as you can. Every one you kill will bolster your concentration, as well as give us an extra fighter if you learn something. Every memory you rescue will be free to come back here."_ continued the figment, _"Furthermore, each good memory you have has an opposing bad memory, but only those you make in the real world. Killing the bad one gives you better control over the good memory."_ ended the desire to become Hokage.

"Right," said Naruto, "How do I kill them?" He asked

_"Very well, Thank you."_ The illusionary Yondaime said very mystically.

"WHAT!?" yelled Naruto.

* * *

Outside of the cerebral castle...

* * *

All of the figments in his field of vision faded away, and Naruto was transported to the very side door the small rabbit had shown him on his first visit. Not only that, but he was treated to the sight of 4 skeletons shambling up to him, this time, however, their eyes were glowing red. 'Probably not a good thing...' he thought.

Seeing no other way out, Naruto attempted to summon metal from his body, an d found himself unable to. 'Most likely because there isn't any metal in my dreams...' he thought, and stooped to pick up a leg bone from a fallen skeleton.

Naruto took a swing at a skeleton's head, crushing it in to little tiny bits. The broken head shot out a ball of light, which zoomed into Naruto's head. The only thing going through his head was, '_Shuriken Accuracy, 10 of 100!_'. Figuring it out, Naruto swung at one of the other skeletons, breaking its spine, instantly destroying it. '_Kawarimi no jutsu!_' The third skeleton was armed with a short-sword, and swung at our blond protagonist, before he switched with the fourth, relearning...'_Melee weaponry!_''

The fourth Skeleton, twice as large as the others, was black. Naruto ran one the thigh-bone through its brittle skull, causing it to drop both the short-sword it was carrying and '_Chakra Control!_''. Naruto moved chakra into his torso, causing his lungs to function better.

"YATTA!" he shouted, having regained his chakra.

Naruto's little celebration was cut short as ten skeletons moved around him, in a circle to prevent his escape. 'Time to un-rust my skills!' thought the boy, as he channeled chakra to his legs, disappearing in a flash, a blur circled around the skeletons, then Naruto came to a stop in the middle, as the skeletons suddenly crumpled.

'Still got it!' thought Naruto happily, as 10 orbs zoomed towards him:

'_Shuriken Accuracy... 20, 30, 40, 50, 60_'

'_Kunai Accuracy...20, 40_'

'_Kage Bunshin no jutsu...5, 10 clones_'

'_Metal Control...25_'

Naruto's hands became more maneuverable, his shadow became deeper, and he could feel his bones become lighter, and liquid metal began to flow once again through his body. He absorbed the damaged sword, and two metal spikes grew from his wrists, as well as 2 from his elbows, followed by a metal coating of his skin, turning it into light armor.

Naruto ran off, finding a group of 3 zombies chilling out, playing a game of cards.

_"Go fish"_ was the last thing That particular zombie got to say, before Naruto's right elbow spike embedded itself into the zombie's ear.

The zombie's head crumpled to ash, '_Vital point locations!_'

Naruto spun around quickly to behead the other two:

'_Kage bunshin no jutsu...no seal!_'

'_Rapid jabs...10 s.p.s!'_'

Naruto heard hoofbeats, as he saw a large armored zombie riding a decaying horse charge up, screaming, _"Die, Fiend!"_

Naruto sped towards the horses front right leg, severing it, and causing the rider to be crushed beneath his steed:

'_Rapid jabs...20, 40 s.p.s!_'

Naruto figured that "birds of a feather flock together" so if he wanted to find certain skills, he should look in one area, such as the lowered swamp he was in right now.

20 minutes later...

Naruto had recovered all 80 of his shuriken accuracy, all 90 of the Kunai accuracy, and his entire kage bunshin repertoire of 1,000 clones. He had also claimed many of Ibiki's skills, his "Blurred hands", where he delivers 100 strikes per second, his complete knowledge of torture implements, as well as all 100 of Ibiki's chakra.

Naruto's previous metal control, as he now realized, was only a mere 5 compared to what he had now, 50.

* * *

A rival appears...Generic boss battle

* * *

A very large Zombie, plated entirely with silver, radiating fire out of its pores, rose from the ground, towering above Naruto.

'uh-oh...' thought Naruto, 'This can't be good'.

The Zombie slammed his mighty hand, nearly squishing Naruto, who barely managed to run up its arm. Naruto jumped onto its head, then a voice spoke to him...**"Good...kill more...use this move..."** an image of Naruto sending metal vines underneath the Zombie's skin, then ripping it all outwards, flashed through his mind.

Naruto followed the directions, not caring where the advice came from, and ripped the zombie to itty-bitty-bits.

'_Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!_' the elusive technique came back to him, he would finally be able to show Tenten he could do it! he could see her smile! 'Wait, what am I thinking, I just met her...but...nonono...She's a year older...'

Suddenly, Naruto heard the voice that told him what to do, **"Age 'aint nothing but a number..."**

"Okay...whatever..." Naruto said aloud, "Every technique needs a name...what should I call my new one...?"

Naruto thought through its effects, and finally compared it to the flaying of an animal, removing its skin.

It came to him pretty easily, 'Flay.'

As soon as he had the name memorized, he heard a deep tone.

The world around him faded, and Naruto's eyes met his ceiling once again.

* * *

End of Chapter 6

* * *

The last pat may have been rushed, but I REALLY don't want to go through each skeleton, as the listing is tedious.

Tell me what you think of Ibiki's moves, as well as your guesses on Naruto's metal control's new abilities. I already have them listed, but, If your ideas are good enough, you'll see them added!

Rate and review!


	7. Chapter 7

Alright! 7th chapter!

People are reviewing, and boy oh boy...I've always wanted to say this...

9000+ hits! 68 reviews, 17 favs, and 71 alerts! The power feels good...

* * *

So, let me get this straight...you want to fly on a magic carpet to see the king of the potato people to plead for your lives, and your telling me you are perfectly sane!?-Red Dwarf, Mr. Rimmer

* * *

Disclaimer! I don't own Naruto, any affiliated characters, nor do I own Elric. I also don't own Red Dwarf.

...ON WITH THE SHOW!

* * *

"Blah"-person speaking...'Blah'-person thinking...**"Blah"**-Demon speaking...**'Blah'**-Demon thinking..._"Blah"_-Memory speaking(they don't think)

* * *

Leaves of Steel, Chapter 7

* * *

5 km east of Konoha, 7:42 PM (the same day as he arrived)

* * *

The rain was beating down upon the hood of the albino man, and the back of his horse was beading water. Traveling at a steady pace, Elric and his mount swiftly approached the village hidden in the leaves. Elric's eyes were weary, and his grip on the reins were weakening.

"Kawska," muttered the pale man, "Let's rest."

The horse whinnied in agreement, and moved to the side of the road. Kawska found a nice stream to camp by, and let Elric down there. The steed went to get some water, as Elric pulled out miniature tent and stable models. He set them on the ground, and waved his hands. The models grew, and fit perfectly into the space.

Elric wearily stepped inside, then cast a minor spell on the area, sealing it off from the naked eye. Kawska moved to his stable, and drew runes into the ground. The mystical symbols glowed, and a trough of vegetables popped into existence. Night fell.

* * *

Naruto's apartment. 6:30 AM

* * *

Naruto hopped out of bed, his body felt amazingly light.

'Maybe I should test out my new metal control' thought the blond-haired dynamo.

He raised his hand, and tried to move metal out. The metal came rocketing out, and floated a few inches away from his pal in a messy ball. Naruto foucsed, and pushed the ball across the room, trying to keep it level. It worked perfectly, _too_ perfectly. The metal ball slammed into his wall. Naruto lowered the power, and moved the ball back and forth, until he could control its speed.

He moved his hand, and the ball followed. He clenched his fist, and the ball collapsed. He opened his hand, and the ball expanded. Naruto lowered his hand completely, while keeping the ball exactly where it was. It all came so easily.

Naruto moved the ball around with his mind, spinning it around the room. He changed its shape, into that of a kunai, and slowly brought it to him. Naruto grabbed the kunai, and spun it around.

'This kicks SO much ass...' he thought, while turning the single kunai into a short-sword.

The blue-eyed boy summoned another orb out of his left hand, finding it just as easy to control. He moved both simultaneously, and started bringing out more and more.

'Thanks for all the metal, Ibiki-sensei' thought the child _in memoriam_ of his late teacher.

Naruto constructed and deconstructed a metal wall, faster and faster, each time. He added spikes, notches, anything he could. Naruto pulled a sword out of the wall, and turned the wall into spiky armor. Naruto pulled all the metal slowly into his pores as he heard a knocking at the door.

Naruto ran to the door, and opened it, finding the sandaime waiting patiently there.

"Yo! What's up old man?" Naruto greeted the Hokage.

"Naruto-kun, I understand you wanted to talk to me? May I come in?" The mighty Sarutobi asked politely.

"It's your village, come on in!" said Naruto, a smile on his face, as he retreated to the kitchen to cook up some ramen.

Sarutobi stepped inside, sighing as he saw the mess Naruto called his apartment.

"Naruto-kun, Elric-sama has contacted me. He will be arriving today to begin your training. He also told me that you have Ibiki's skills lying dormant in your mind. Have you found them?" inquired the sandaime.

"Yeah, I found something Ibiki-sensei named 'Blurred Hands', I found all of it. The memories are shattered into pieces, it takes a while to find them. I also found all of his chakra, I feel GREAT!" shouted Naruto happily.

"That's interesting Naruto-kun, for you to have found the exact skill I was going to help him improve." the Hokage began, "But, as Ibiki has passed on, I will teach it to you, in his stead. We will leave immediately...after we have some breakfast!" said the Hokage, as he knew that both he and the boy were very hungry.

"SWEET! I get to learn a powerful technique from the Hokage! I'll beat Sasuke in no time!" yelled Naruto, as he walked in with the ramen he had started before he answered the door, as well as some dango he got from the dango store owners, a gift from yesterday.

'He has dango!' thought the old man, his affection for the dumplings had been passed down from him to Orochimaru, to Anko.

Sarutobi cleared his throat as Naruto handed him a bowl of ramen as well as two skewers of the lovely dumplings. Sarutobi reached pulled out a scroll and summoned a pair of Ivory chopsticks.

"A gift from the fourth Kazekage." the sandaime informed the confuzzled boy, as he began to eat, "Itadakimasu." he said at the same time as the boy.

Naruto cleared his throat to draw the attention of the Hokage.

"Look at this!" Naruto said in excitement, as made metal chopsticks appear from his pointer and middle fingers, then grabbed them to start eating.

"Amazing, Naruto-kun! Have you finally gotten the hang of it?" exclaimed the surprised sandaime.

"Yeah!" said the boy proudly, "I got some practice in this morning, after I found the mastery in my mind."

"How exactly did that happen, Naruto-kun?" asked the Hokage politely.

"In my mind there is a war going on between my good and bad memories and dreams. The only ones who fight are the ones that have battle skills. My bad memories appear as skeletons, and Ibiki-sensi's are zombies. Whenever I kill them, I get the skills they had, the skeletons stole mine from me when I killed Ibiki-sensei. I think I automatically get the ones that aren't battle skills, like the Kyubi's resistance to fire, and Ibiki's torture skills." Naruto said intelligently.

"You have Ibiki's torture skills!?" screamed the Sandaime, "Why didn't you tell me!?"

"I just did..." muttered Naruto sullenly.

"Sorry Naruto-kun, didn't meant to yell at you." Sarutobi apologized, "Are you ready to go train?" he asked, finishing the last of his Dango.

"HELL YES!" screamed Naruto, who then saw the Hokage cover his ears, "sorry, I mean yes." apologized Naruto.

Naruto sent out metal clips, which he attached to the dishes, and lifted them to the sink.

"Pretty cool, Naruto-kun. Maybe next time you could use that to clean up your home..." joked the sandaime, as the two left for the Hokage's training grounds.

* * *

Sandaime's training grounds, 7:48 AM

* * *

"Naruto-kun, please show me how good you've gotten with Ibiki's 'Blurred Hands' technique." asked Sarutobi of Naruto.

Naruto concentrated chakra to his hands, and shouted, "BLURRED HANDS!".

Naruto's hands glowed bright grey as he tore into a training post. Wood splinters went flying, as Naruto delivered over 1800 punches to the post in only 18 seconds.

'Holy crap! Naruto-kun is just as fast as Ibiki was...are those metal spikes protruding from his gauntlets?' thought Sarutobi excitedly.

Naruto pushed more metal through his gauntlets, and made giant blades. He cut down the pole in multiple places without losing any speed.

"How's that, old man?" proclaimed Naruto.

"Amazing Naruto-kun! Now, I want you to perform another trick for me. Perform this seal, (Sarutobis showed Naruto a modified Tiger/dragon seal) while focusing your chakra into your hands." commanded Sarutobi.

Naruto did as ordered, and his hands began to emit fire, which didn't harm him in the least.

"Cool..." exclaimed Naruto, as the sandaime summoned another pole.

"Now, Naruto-kun, combine this with blurred hands, to make 'Rapid Flames', a heavy damage melee attack. strike the pole and see what happens." the sandaime requested.

Naruto focused more chakra and called out, "Rapid Flames" striking the pole, each hit severely burning it.

"The enchantment I just showed you was one that the fourth Hokage invented, 'Searing Hands'. It was his dream to someday combine it with his all-purpose skill, the Rasengan." monotoned Sarutobi.

"Why was that, old...ol...sandime-sensei" Naruto began to realize that if the old man was going to be his teacher, he would have to address him as one.

"Finally showing respect, eh Naruto-kun?" inquired Sarutobi, "If you want to call me sensei, Naruto-kun, call me Sarutobi-sensei." he finished.

"Okay...Sarutobi-sensei." affirmed the blond-headed boy.

"Sadly it wouldn't have done anything, and that's the silly part. If you want, I'll teach you the rasengan when you become chunin." said the sandaime, hesitant to make commitments.

"I'll hold you on that! Now step back, I have an Idea!" shouted Naruto, forming the Tiger/dragon seal.

'What is he going to do?' wondered the third Hokage, 'just like his father...'

Naruto formed countless metal vines, which began to glow red-hot.

Naruto then shouted "Flame's Tongues!", and launched the vines, tip-first, at the newly-formed wooden post. The vines were moving as if they were the blurred hands, striking 100 times in a single second.

The post, after the attack, was covered in smoking blackened spots.

'Holy crap,' thought Sarutobi, 'he already used it in a new move, just like his old man.'

Naruto smirked proudly at his achievement, as he circled around the log. He pulled the vines back into his body, cooling the metal with his chakra.

Naruto exclaimed to his sensei, "Watch this one! I learned it from...from...an odd voice...but still!" shouted Naruto as he spread his hand open.

Vines again shot out of it, and buried themselves swiftly underneath the entire surface of the log, the thin metal hardly produced a bulge.

"FLAY!" shouted Naruto, as the vines burst the bark of the log off, and returned to his hand as quickly as he sent them out.

"Impressive, Naruto-kun! Tell that voice 'thanks'!" the sandaime said.

"Hey, Sarutobi-sensei!" Naruto asked, his mind racing with possibility, "Would it be possible to have my metal make hand-signs?"

"Well, Naruto-kun, nobody's had the opportunity to try." answered the Hokage, after some careful consideration.

Naruto made a hand on the end of one of the vines, and had it make the burning hands seal. It worked perfectly. Naruto's original hands had the burning effect too.

"Sarutobi-sensei, could you teach me a very long seal sequence?" asked Naruto hopefully.

"Sure thing, Naruto-kun. How about a reflex jutsu? It can give you an 900 increase in reflexes, but it is 150 seals, making it very impractical in combat situations. However, I can see why it may work for you." Sarutobi responded warmly, happy to see the jutsu he developed over 40 years ago be able to be put to use.

Sarutobi pulled a summoning scroll, and pressed a single finger upon it. A mahogany box popped in, from which he withdrew a scroll, unrolling it to its full length of 14 meters.

"HOLY CRAP!" screamed Naruto, as he saw the length of the jutsu.

Naruto made 298 vines, each becoming a hand. the hands went over their respective signs on the scroll.

"Naruto, this technique is forbidden, and has no name. As such, don't inform anyone about it, okay?" proclaimed Sarutobi.

"Hai!" shouted Naruto, as he ran along the length of the scroll, moving each pair of hands into its seal.

"Naruto! To release it, you must perform it backwards, be careful!" shouted the sandaime as Naruto reached the end of the scroll.

* * *

World's speed at 1/10

* * *

Naruto reached the final seal, and conformed his hands to its shape. Naruto moved chakra to all of the hands quickly, first to last, and the light he saw turned grey. His reflexes were now 10 times their norm.

Naruto began to return his vines, but they came very slowly. He moved chakra to them, and they sped up as he just used blurred hands. All of the vines returned, and Naruto began to run around. His body felt heavy like lead, as he found that it was moving in normal time, while he saw things 10x as fast. He did a back flip, and landed it perfectly, accomplishing not just a 360 degree spin, but a 720, two entire rotations.

Naruto quickly ran back along the scroll, this time taking the place of the first seal, as his vines took the rest. Another chakra pulse, this time from last to first, and time began to move normally.

* * *

World's speed at 1

* * *

"Did it work, Naruto-kun? I have no way of knowing, except the way you were acting." Sarutobi said, amazed that Naruto got it the first try.

"THAT WAS AWESOME!" shouted the blue-yed child, "The strange thing is... I remember how to do the entire thing! Watch!"

Naruto did it again, solely from memory, and turned it off.

"SEE!?" he shouted.

"Great job Naruto, but you need to take a rest, after all, Elric-sama wouldn't like it if you were tired when he arrived." said Sarutobi.

"You are quite right, Sarutobi. I wouldn't like it if my new student was worn out before I got the chance to teach him." said a mounted man, standing just outside of the training area.

The mounted man slid off of his steed and pulled hid hood down to reveal his white skin and hair. He was wearing silk clothing of the purest white, with mystical runes, inscribed in blue lettering. He carried no weapons on him, and was very thin.

"Elric-sama!" shouted the hokage very child-like, "I haven't seen you for 16 years! How are you!?"

"Fine, Sarutobi, have you been well? Where is the boy...ah!" said Elric, finding the boy speechless, "There you are, Naruto! Are you well?" asked the albino.

"I'm fine, Elric-san" answered Naruto.

"I thought I told you to address me as Elric?" puzzled Elric.

"Sorry, Elric." Naruto said, correcting himself.

"I am afraid I must take your student from you, Sarutobi. That is, if he is ready." stated the pale lord.

"HELL YEAH! I'M READY!" shouted Naruto, full of what Guy or Lee would call 'Youthful Exuberance'.

"There is your answer, Elric-sama" began the sandaime, "but before he goes, he might want this scroll." Sarutobi said, rolling up the massive scroll with a single curl of the finger.

Elric extended his left hand, pulling the scroll to it with a blue shimmer, clasping it with his hand. Naruto stood mouth agape.

"Would you like to learn how to do this, Naruto?" Elric asked coyly.

"Yeahyeahyeahyeahyeah!" shouted Naruto eagerly.

"Come on then, we are going to the top of Hokage monument." Elric declared with an adventurous voice, "Sarutobi, could you take care of my horse for me?" the albino asked.

"Sure, Elric-sama." Sarutobi responded.

* * *

At the top of the Hokage monument: 3:42 PM

* * *

Naruto and Elric had been mediating for an entire hour, after Naruto explained what he had learnt. He had also told Elric of the sword, and the war taking place in his mind.

"Naruto, you may stop now." commanded Elric, "Tell me , what did you feel?" he asked.

"I felt anger, but not from me, from the sword inside. It spoke of power it could offer me, and what I could accomplish. It said it could make me whatever I wanted, even the greatest ninja in the world." Naruto said, imagining the possibilities.

"Naruto, do not listen to its call. It told me the same thing, but it tells only lies. The power it offers is false." Elric warned.

"But, how can I use it to my advantage?" asked the boy.

"Kill the bad memories you mentioned, and drain it of the evil it has placed inside of you. However, you can do whatever you want with the power it gives you, as you are not genetically sick, like I was. You don't NEED its power. You mentioned that it adds to your genetic code the best pieces it finds. Use this to your advantage. Kill if you must, obtain the power you need to destroy this god by any means necessary." stated Elric in a cold tone.

"But, Elric, that would be cruel to others, I would be a murderer! I can't do that!" Screamed Naruto, as the prospect of killing his friends and fellow Ninja crossed his mind.

"Naruto, I have a way past this. If you can kill Stormbringer, you would obtain its power for yourself. You would erase it from existence, but, at a price." the albino said gravely.

"What would that be, Elric?" asked the Blonde shinobi.

Elric's eyes lit up like fire, their blue brilliance twinkling in his joy, "You would gain a second chance at life, but lose your memory, if you so choose at the exact moment you gained the power." Elric said in a cool tone.

"And if I didn't?" asked the boy.

Elric knew this was coming, so he delivered the only true answer, "If you didn't, Naruto, you would destroy everybody you ever knew, ending with yourself. You would become...The new god of the void."

* * *

End of chapter 7

* * *

The new god of the void, a dark prospect. Prepare for carnage!

Rate and review!


	8. Chapter 8

Alright! 8th chapter!

* * *

79 reviews, 12,000+ hits...YAY!

* * *

In response to my reviewers...It's party time!

* * *

Disclaimer! I don't own Naruto, any affiliated Characters, nor do I own Elric. HOWEVER...I DO pwn them at SSBM...ON WITH THE SHOW! 

"Blah"-person speaking...'Blah'-person thinking...**"Blah"**-Demon speaking...**'Blah'**-Demon thinking..._"Blah"_-Memory speaking(they don't think)

* * *

Leaves of Steel, Chapter 8

* * *

Hokage Monument: 4:30 PM

* * *

There were gash marks all over the nearby trees, rocks, ground, even at the bottom of a riverbed. Clearly, Naruto must have been training. Elric watched over his training as he read a book.

'I can't believe Konoha has such GREAT books!' thought the albino, 'I'll have to remember this author...Jiraya...If I'm not mistaken...'

"Elric, look! I got it!' shouted the blond child, holding a small clump of metal in his hand, containing the pressure of metal.

"Alright, Naruto. Try that tree." Elric pointed at a medium-sized birch.

Naruto slowly brought his hand level, about 5 meters away, from the tree, and formed chakra into the already unstable ball. The shaking became worse, but Naruto kept it steady, as cracks began to form in the spheroid.

"KAI!" he shouted, releasing his stasis on the ball, as it sped towards the tree. Coils of metal hung off of the ball, and the entire ball exploded as it reached the fourth meter. At this point, Naruto focused a cone of pressure around the ball, and directed every fragment to the tree's heart. Naruto stood back to admire his handiwork, a konoha leaf imbedded into the bark.

At that point, a bird flew up to Elric, a message tied to its leg. Elric took the message, unfurling it, and casting his gaze upon its papery splendor. The ink was 1, maybe 2 minutes old, tops.

"Naruto, Sarutobi requests our presence. We must leave this for another time." stated the anti-barbarian bluntly, "But...Before we go, time to think up a name for your move, however corny it may be!"

Naruto sweat-dropped, he didn't know why Elric was so weird...

The pair left, and arrived at the tower at 4:50.

* * *

Hokage's Tower: 4:51

* * *

Elric and his student entered the Mission Assignment Hall, only to find they weren't alone. Team 7 was there, none except Kakashi knowing who the Albino was.

"ELRIC-SAMA!" squealed the open pervert, jumping in front of the surprised man, eyes glittering, "Are you here to help me learn more Jutsu!?"

Elric would've paled, had he been able to become paler, "Ka...Kakashi? Is that you? What...what is that?" inquired Elric of the orange book in Kakashi's hand.

Kakashi leaned in towards Elric, and whispered, "It's Icha-Icha tactics...why do you ask?"

Elric slightly raised a pocket covering enough to let Kakashi see HIS orange-colored book, "Where can I get MORE!?" Elric demanded of the silver-haired copy master.

Kakashi nonchalantly slipped Elric a hastily drawn map to the bookstore that Kakashi visited frequently. Elric promptly ran off like a giddy schoolgirl.

The sandaime cleared his throat, drawing attention from Kakashi, Sakura, Sasuke, Sai, and Naruto.

"Uzumaki, Naruto, you are to be paired with team seven for this mission, where you and team seven will be escorting Tazuna-san to his home in wave country. Any objections?" stated the Hokage in a officious voice.

"Just one, who are we escorting?" asked Naruto, yet to see the client.

The sliding door opened, and a drunk, smelly guy walked in, yelling about being escorted by kids, or something. Naruto raised an eyebrow at being called "short" by the old man. Naruto promptly formed a kunai into his hand, and had it fly around the old man, at high speeds, before coming back to him.

"Who are you calling short!?" yelled Naruto angrily, taking the kunai back into his wrist, which was concealed by his metal gauntlets.

Tazuna pulled back in fear, before the Hokage shouted, "Naruto...don't attack the clients!"

Naruto grumpily said, "Hai, Hokage-sama..." before he went to see the mission specs.

A "C" rank...protect from bandits, etc...Hatake Kakashi assisting...this would be easy. Naruto signed his name and thumbprint.

* * *

Main Gate, 5:35 PM

* * *

Elric waved Naruto and his group off, secretly casting a fireball proxy on Naruto, allowing for a cast when in danger. 'Hope he doesn't kill the bridge builder' thought the albino before returning to his new Icha-Icha tactics book.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the bushes, inside of the city...

* * *

'Naruto-kun! come back safely!' thought the shadowy kunochi before leaping away, leaving a Chibi-Naruto-headed Kunai in her place.

* * *

Leaf-to-Wave Road, 5:40

* * *

The two Demon Brothers thought that they were unnoticed, and they leapt from their puddle, claws raised. How unfortunate for them that they were face-to-face with an alligator made of ink.

The alligator's jaw fell with a sickening thud...onto wood. I mean, c'mon, battles aren't over that fast...

The demon brothers cut through Naruto, with no resistance. Well, that might have been because it was a kage bunshin...

Naruto careful responded with a choice burning hands attack to the back of their skulls, careful not to show off his metal attacks. He then bound them with their own sharp chain, against a tree.

Sasuke was wondering how 'dead last' could pull this off, while Sakura was wondering the same thing. Kakashi was reading his perverted novel, and sai was going through one thing, ' I guess he has balls...'.

Naruto pimp-slapped the Chunin awake, and held kunai, produced from his pocket, or so it seemed, at their throats.

"So, bitches...You guys want to tell me why you attacked us? Or am I going to have to break your noses?" asked Naruto, Ibiki's investigation skills flowing freely.

The Demon Brothers looked at each other, nodded, and spat in Naruto's face. Naruto dodged, and in the dame movement inflicted a heavy punch to both of their noses, breaking them with a 'crack'.

The two brothers started to cry, and then began to spill the beans.

"Www...we were hired by Gato-san to take out the bridge-builder Tazuna so Gato could control wave country without any problems. Please don't kill us!" pleaded the worthless chunin.

Naruto had no time but to duck, as he sensed a large metal weapon heading towards him. Naruto's head evaded being sliced off, but the same was not true for the two chunin, Their blood began to spurt everywhere as Naruto dashed to rejoin his group.

A voice called from the newly settled mist, "Useless chunin...but you on the other hand kid...you have a future in mass murder...wanna join up?" asked a bandaged man, removing his massive blade with one hand.

The man stepped forward, And introduced himself as the Demon of the Mist, after Tazuna's head, of course.

"Momochi Zabuza..." hissed Kakashi, drawing a kunai in his left hand, "you are an S-ranked Missing Nin from Mist, am I incorrect? If not, then I guess I get to collect the 4 million bounty on your head, posted by the Mizukage himself." Kakashi added gleefully.

"4.5 million now..." corrected Zabuza, "I killed his dog..."

Kakashi pulled up his eye covering to reveal his sharingan to a stunned Sasuke, a astonished Sakura, an disinterested Sai, and an apathetic Naruto. Kakashi bull rushed with a simple kawamari, and unleashed his dogs. The tracking team missed Zabuza, and disappeared due to them only being useful as a surprise.

Naruto readied his burning hands, and initiated a recovered Phoenix Immortal Fire with compressed steel Shuriken inside.

Zabuza dodged Kakashi's kunai, but was hit by raging shrapnel in the leg by Naruto's Newly thought up attack, Rushing Metal: Burning Winds. Zabuza jumped back in pain as a masked Hunter-Nin from Mizu stole some of his throat-space with senbon.

Zabuza fell to the ground, as pale as death, and was immediatly picked up by the masked Ninja.

"Thank you for helping to catch this criminal. I will now bring his body to the Mizukage for my mission completion." the hunter-Nin said before teleporting away.

"Well, that's over with, shall we move on, Mr. 'i didn't want to pay for an A class mission so I lied about who was following me' Tazuna." asked Kakashi sarcastically.

* * *

Opposite Shore to Wave Country, 7:00 PM

* * *

As Naruto, team 7, and Tazuna moved onto the boat, it began to row toward the other side. Both the driver and Tazuna remained silent.

"So, I suppose you guys want to know why I didn't pay for an A-ranked Mission?" asked Tazuna sullenly.

"Tazuna, we are going to guard you anyways, so don't fret about it. We know you didn't have the money. Just drop the subject." said Kakashi reading his perverted novel.

The rest of the ride was silent. except for Sai asking Naruto, "How did you do that shrapnel-gun thing? That was pretty awesome."

Naruto lied and said, "Those were poorly-constructed shuriken with fire-proof exploding tags."

Sasuke asked Naruto rudely, "Where did you learn the Phoenix Immortal Fire technique? You are the failure after all..."

Naruto responded happily with a middle finger and a, "Ibiki-sensei!" this time, it was not a lie.

Once they got to wave country, they headed towards Tazuna's house.

* * *

Tazuna's Pad, 11:05 PM

* * *

Naruto laid his head down upon the pillow and fell into dreamland.

* * *

Naruto's Mindscape, 3rd visit

* * *

When he opened his eyes he found himself on the battle field once again, with a mob of skeletons camping his spawn point, what noobs.

Naruto launched one sharpened tentacle after another, slicing through one skeleton's skull, making it closely related to swiss cheese. He cut off the legs below the kneecaps of another, using those to simultaneously smash its head in. Naruto launched a Burning Winds attack at a slightly larger one, pulling back the metal afterwards.

Two remained, the first falling to a giant-sized Gauntlet, the second to its comrade's own skull. Naruto watched as the orbs of their knowledge returned to him.

"_Henge no jutsu_"

"_Human-clone instant Kawamari_"

"_Genjutsu: Burning Blood_"

"_Vulpine Cleave_"

"_Vulpine Terror Charm_"

Naruto was surprised to say the least when he found out that not only had he recovered 1 of his own, and two of Ibiki's, but also 2 apparently learned by the Kyubi. Naruto produced 20 Kage bunshin, and charged at what appeared to be a very large lizard.

It was a dragon. It had very hot breath. This was found out by one of Naruto's Kage Bunshin, after switching places with the real Naruto. Naruto made a steel muzzle to distract the Dragon around its mouth, while he ran through the Reflex seals, using his vine hands.

The Dragon's throes became slower, and the muzzle retreated at high speeds into Naruto's body. Naruto pulled off a double backflip, barely missing one of the dragon's claws, before land on the dragon's head.

Naruto flipped upwards, and went into a simple fox seal to initiate the Vulpine cleave. Naruto found that once this activated, his hand become covered in the red Chakra, not losing any of it due to the fact that is stayed in his mind. Naruto sliced through the Dragon's head, coming out the other side, along with:

"_Metal Mastery, 75_"

With that, Naruto woke up.

* * *

Tazuna's House: 9:45 AM

* * *

Naruto went downstairs to find Sai eating breakfast. Sai pointed Naruto to the plates, cooked by Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter. Naruto began to consume the rice and vegetables, and found that Tsunami must be a very good cook. He ate the food with gusto, then questioned Sai about his powers.

"Hey, Sai?" asked Naruto, "How do you summon those Ink-creatures?"

Sai answered promptly, "By drawing them out like this" Sai drew a butterfly, to have it flutter around the room and out the door.

Naruto took that to mean 'Oh, look at me, I have infinite summons!', so he left.

* * *

Wave's Woods

* * *

Kakashi called Naruto into the woods, were they were to practice walking up tree with their chakra. Naruto struggled to stay up, as the metal in his body was pulling him down. He eventually pushed the metal along with himself, but he finished at the same time as Sasuke.

"Hey, idiot!" jeered Sasuke, "You want to have a sparring match, to see how much you need to improve?"

Naruto put on a fake smile, "Sure, I'd love to, jerk."

The genin squared off on the forest floor, with Sasuke starting things off with a grand Fireball Technique. Naruto used Rapid Flame to deter the blast, his Searing Sands moving so fast they were a red blur. Naruto made 20 Kage bunshin, and sent them all around Sasuke. Sasuke couldn't land a hit on any of them, as they would block with their hands. Naruto used a modified Phoenix Immortal Fire, with blunt rounded shuriken to bruise and burn Sasuke.

Sasuke's eyes began to spin, and Naruto could see on tomoe in each. Before Sasuke attacked, Naruto held up a mirror.

Sasuke stopped, and, completely out of character, yelled, "YATTA! I DID IT!!!"

quickly regaining his composure, Sasuke said politely to Naruto, "Thank you Naruto, for helping me activate my kekkei genkai. i am going to need to find Kakashi, because I don't know how to turn it on or off...bye!" said Sasuke, as he ran off.

Naruto felt good for helping someone who really needed it. Because Naruto could've whopped his ass with one vine. Again and again.

* * *

End of Chapter 8

* * *

Thanks so much for all of your reviews! I'll be updating...umm...dunno...sometime! YAY!

Reviews praised, Flames urinated on.

-Johnhamsta


	9. Chapter 9

Alright! 9th Chapter!

* * *

90 reviews, 15,000+ hits...My story is getting huge like X-Box! 

In response to my reviewers... Thanks for the reviews of everybody except "...", YOU can G.F.O.A.D...

* * *

Disclaimer! I don't own Naruto, probably never will...Nor do I own Michael Morcock's Elric...ON WITH THE SHOW! 

"Blah"-person speaking...'Blah'-person thinking...**"Blah"**-Demon speaking...**'Blah'**-Demon thinking..._"Blah"_-Memory speaking(they don't think)

* * *

Leaves of Steel, Chapter 9

* * *

Land of Waves, Central Forest

* * *

Naruto was standing alone in the forest, the only sound was that of a falling tree, which he had cut down seconds ago with a giant blade protruding from his right hand.

'Damn, I'm tired...I'll go back now...' thought the blonde, as he walked carefully towards the bridge builder's house.

* * *

Tazuna's Pad: 9:30 PM

* * *

As he neared Tazuna's house, Naruto heard a sniffling sound coming from Tazuna's Grandson's room. Naruto, wondering what it was, walked up the wall to get a better look. He immediately saw Inari crying, staring out towards the sea.

Naruto jumped the railing and walked up towards the miserable child, with a comforting smile on his face.

"Hey, Inari. Are you okay?" Naruto asked carefully.

The small boy looked upwards, tears streaming down his face, "Naruto-san...I'm afraid...Gato is going to kill you all..." the boy said, arms around his own knees.

Naruto was taken aback that someone was going to kill him, so he demanded of Inari, "OY! who's this Gato guy!? Why does he want us dead!??

Inari looked down at his feet, "Gato is a shipping magnate, and the bridge my grandpa is building is threatening Gato's control of Wave country. The bridge will allow us to trade freely, and break out of the poverty that Gato sent us into. You guys are helping my grandpa free us, so Gato is going to kill you." Inari finished his long speech, then began looking at his feet.

Naruto clenched his fist, remembering Gato's henchmen. He had beaten them down and he could do it again. That Zabuza wasn't so tough, Naruto could easily kill him.

"Inari," began Naruto, "I will stop Gato and free your lands. When you are protecting something, you are always stronger than the one who is attacking it. I will protect your lands, but I need your help." after saying these words, Naruto laid his right hand over Inari's open left.

Naruto moved metal out of his body, folding it again and again into the shape of a bow with metal string.

"Inari! I want you to protect the ones you care about from those that want to hurt them." Naruto said firmly. while crafting a full quiver of arrows, imbued with his chakra.

Inari nodded, wiping away his tears, as he grabbed the bow and arrows from Naruto.

"By the way, don't tell them how I made these things, okay?" Naruto asked, to which Inari nodded again in confirmation.

Naruto went inside to bed, where he lay down and attempted to go to sleep. Before he could however, Sasuke opened the sliding door and sat down next to Naruto.

"Hey...Naruto..." began the raven-haired Uchiha prodigy.

"What's up Sasuke?" Naruto asked unsure of Sasuke's reason for entering.

"Thanks for helping me get my Sharingan...Would...would you like to spar again tomorrow?" Sasuke asked quietly.

Naruto only had to ponder for a brief moment before answering, "Sure Sasuke, I'll spar with you tomorrow, get ready to get your ass kicked!" shouted Naruto.

Sasuke laughed, and then left the room as Naruto Began to sleep.

* * *

Naruto' s Dreamscape

* * *

Naruto stood in the battlefield, as the Dragon's corpse began shatter away. Naruto looked at the horizon, to see an obsidian spire on the furthest hill. Naruto constructed a war-hammer, short, yet terribly effective. He pulled out his armor, smooth and shiny, as the mental moon shone upon it, its rays bouncing off of it like an aura. A smooth helmet was also constructed, banded with spikes.

Rapid footsteps could be heard, as Naruto encountered a mounted skeleton, its eyes glowing red. The skeleton was wielding a large spear, its tip glistening with silver. The skeleton charged, as it threw the spear, hurtling towards Naruto.

Naruto stopped the spear with his mind, and shattered it into pieces, as he swung his war-hammer into the skeleton's torso. The armor-crushing blow knocked the rider off of his horse, who evaporated into a horse-hilted sword. The offending skeleton gripped it, and swung at Naruto. Naruto extended metal arms from his leg, halting the attack, and ripping off the skeleton's armor.

Blonde hair gleamed from under Naruto's helm, as he flipped over the brute, and crushed its spinal cord with his hammer. The skeleton fell apart, and released its orb of memory.

"_GENETIC MEMORY: Evil Sealing Method: Soul Seal_"

Naruto watched as a faint glow appeared underneath his gauntlets, which he took off, to witness a curved triangle tattoo settle into his right and left hands. The boy stepped back as a white light emanated and disappeared from his hands.

'That's weird...whatever...' thought Naruto as he put his gauntlets back on.

The gauntlets glowed white, and, when the light receded, were pure white, with golden inlays. Naruto then gripped his war-hammer, which underwent a similar transformation. The hammer now matched his gloves, and a white steam was constantly emitting from it.

Naruto didn't pay a second thought to the matter, as he dashed off towards that tower.

As the boy reached the bottom of the hill the tower rested on, a flock of gigantic black birds descended upon him, swooping with their serrated slicing talons.

Naruto raised a dome of metal, and blasted it outwards, stunning the raptors. The dome broke away into shards of silvery metal, the same color as his gauntlets and hammer. When the shards hit the birds they slipped through the birds' flesh, leaving gaping holes where they once were.

The cries of the birds resonated through the sky. Naruto caught on quickly, and controlled the fallen pieces to swirl around him in a spinning dome. The helpless birds were soon reduced to ash. Naruto began to start his trek up the hill, when he saw a massive horde of enemies approach, shaking their shields and rattling their sabers.

Naruto flipped off of the hill, and used his metal vines as stilts, moving towards the army at incredible speeds. He jumped directly overhead of them, and re-formed his war-hammer into a longbow. Naruto launched silvery arrows by the dozens, as wave after wave of his foes fell to the ground. Those enemies who raised their shields survived Naruto's Barrage, and met him in hand-to-hand combat when he reached the ground.

Naruto broke his bow into two, equally deadly, blades, as he tore into one of his foes' flesh. The zombie cried in pain as the blades melted through his dry flesh, and cut him in twain. Naruto continued with his dance of death, severing heads, arms, anything his swords could touch. Blow after blow fell upon skeletons and zombies as Naruto's blades cut their ranks down by the dozen.

Naruto let his anger flow freely, and grey chakra began to wave about him, increasing his speed with every strike. When a certain skeleton attacked him, it was cut to shreds by the chakra itself, followed by Naruto's twin blades. The blue-eyed boy released sheets of metal, which wrapped around 14 of the opponents, crushing them into a fine powder. Bones flew about as Naruto used his gauntlets to deliver skull-shattering blows to many a cranial cap of a skeleton.

One final Skeleton appeared to Naruto, larger then the rest, with a shimmering black set of plate armor. Naruto brought his two blades side-by-side, and conjoined them into a massive cleaver. The swing met the armor, and was also met by resistance. The black metal began to glow, and the cleaver rebounded out of Naruto's grip. Naruto sent a palm thrust towards the armor. His right palm stopped when he hit the torso plate, and began to glow fiercely. The Curved Triangle seal projected itself upon its target, and Naruto shouted, "SOUL SEAL!".

Black steam flew into the seal, and the armor momentarily reverted to grey before shattering. At that point the memories of the entire army began to rise. Naruto kept his palm raised, and the balls of light fixated upon that spot, before pulling themselves into the black swirling ball. when all of the memories were inside, the ball began to shudder violently, before moving swiftly towards the dark tower.

Naruto hastened with the orb, and reached the gates, unguarded. The ball came to a rest, hovering gently in front of the giant doors.

'I think I'm supposed to open these doors...might as well...' thought the boy, as he pressed against the massive doors.

The way was now clear, and the ball hurried with Naruto towards a pedestal in the center of the towers floor. Naruto looked up, to find that the tower was hollow. He ran to the pedestal, to watch the dark ball sink into a depression of a sword. The ooze the ball became gravitated towards the hilt of the sword-shape, forming only the hilt.

**"Good job boy."** said a voice inside the tower, to which Naruto looked around frantically, **"In front of you, mortal." **Naruto looked to see that the sword was pulsating blue.

Naruto connected the things Elric had told him, to reason that Stormbringer was speaking to him.

"Storm-Stormbringer?" the boy asked nervously, stuttering.

The sword seemed to chuckle, **"That's correct child. I am the god of the void, wrongfully imprisoned inside this sword. If you will collect the rest of me, I will teach you great things. If you refuse, I will destroy your 'Cerebral Castle'. But don't fret, I have a gift for you..."**

Naruto had just been spoken to by a god, and was shaking as he responded, "What gift?"

Stormbringer plunged the room into shadows, illuminating only Naruto and the sword.

**"My gift is power. Like the power I gave you with what you now call 'Flay'. I give you two more words of destruction. Use them well; 'Rend', which shatters the internal structure you are touching of any being or structure, and 'Phase', so that you may convert yourself to the Ethereal Realm , where you can slip past anybody, or THROUGH them for that matter. In the Ethereal Realm, your body is taken too, so you need not worry about protecting it. When you are there, you can not only speak to me, but also see energy, ghosts, and lines of fate. The lines will lead to what you need. You can also see the standard world, so death can be easily dealt."** The mighty god of the void proclaimed.

**"But that is all I shall give freely to you at this point. When you complete my sword, I shall give it to you, but cannot act upon you the same way as its previous owner, that white-haired Elric. That is all. LEAVE!"** with that shout, Naruto was forced into the waking world.

* * *

Tazuna's Pad: 7:45 AM

* * *

Naruto woke up with a start, breathing heavily as Inari and the others came rushing in. Tazuna, Tsunami, Kakashi, Inari, Sakura, Sai, and Sasuke were all there.

Tsunami asked Naruto worriedly, "Are you all right, Naruto-san? We heard you speaking Dark words in your sleep."

Naruto nodded, and Inari gave him a hug before leaving with his mom and grandpa. Sasuke, Sai, and Sakura left, leaving Kakashi with Naruto.

"Naruto-kun..." began Kakashi, "I didn't want to bring this up with the others around, but why are your gauntlets pure white? They were silver when we left, with platinum spirals if I remember, but now they are a brilliant white, with golden curved triangles." Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow in inquiry.

Naruto took his gauntlets off to reveal the curved triangles. He presented them to Kakashi.

"Naruto...that-that-that seal is the fourth's. How did you get it, I looked for it everywhere, but couldn't find it?" Kakashi asked with hearts in his eyes.

"I found them in my mind. Don't tell anybody about this, okay?" Naruto pleaded with Kakashi.

Kakashi thought it over, before flipping up his headband to memorize the seal, and saying, "Our little secret, I got it...wait...I can't see it with my Sharingan..." Kakashi murmured before walking out.

Naruto lifted himself out of bed, and walked downstairs for breakfast, taking his gauntlets off.

* * *

Central Forest: 8:30

* * *

Naruto stood opposite from Sasuke, two tonfa in his hands. Naruto watched as Sasuke turned his sharingan on.

The boy remembered the words of his red-pupiled friend, Elric, '_Naruto, as much as you want to, do not cut with your metal when you are simply sparring. The metal is connected to Stormbringer, and you will kill your opponent while taking their soul.'_

Naruto ran at Sasuke and began his dance of battle. Sasuke leaned back from Naruto's hit, and kicked Naruto in the side. The foot connected with Naruto's metal-enforced body, and, as such, did no damage. The blond-headed boy flipped over Sasuke and attempted a hit to the lower back. Sasuke saw it coming, and threw Naruto into a tree, which Naruto gripped with chakra and sprung off of. Naruto Summoned 10 Kage Bunshin, and used them to corner Sasuke.

Sasuke's single tomoe in each eye saw the plan and allowed Sasuke to bring a single Kage Bunshin into existence by copying Naruto. Sasuke and his clone fought furiously against Naruto, but were unable to break the metal-enforced clones. The real Naruto switched himself out with a log that he 'henge'd into himself.

In the branches, Naruto pulled off the reflex-enhancing Jutsu perfectly, and jumped down to engage Sasuke in a battle of reactions.

'How is Naruto moving that fast' wondered Sasuke as Naruto slipped past his foot and hit him in the stomach.

Naruto activated his Burning Hands with Blurred Hands to hit Sasuke in many key areas. Sasuke fell down, but got back up, and launched a Grand Fireball straight for Naruto.

Naruto said "**Phase**" quietly and let Sasuke's fireball pass through him.

In the Ethereal Plane, Naruto saw red lines leading to spots on Sasuke's body, as well as a swirling mass which he figured to be Stormbringer above him.

Sasuke looked around as Naruto disappeared, and his Kage Bunshin burst away. Sasuke looked wildly with his Sharingan but was unable to see Naruto until he came back behind Sasuke, delivering a kick to his spine, before He heard Naruto say "**Phase**" and disappeared again.

This continued for 27 seconds before Sasuke fell to the ground, breathing heavily as he turned off his Sharingan, raising his hands in submission. Naruto shimmered back into existence about a meter in front of Sasuke.

"Naruto," began Sasuke, "how did you do that?" Sasuke asked frantically.

"By being Naruto!" teased Naruto, before stepping up to Sasuke, and ran his shimmering hands over Sasuke to see if it could heal wounds.

The glowing hands made the black steam of injury dissipate from Sasuke's wounds, as they vanished. Sasuke stood thunderstuck as Naruto fixed all of the bruises he had caused.

"T-Thanks, Naruto..." muttered Sasuke before walking off to recover his Chakra.

Naruto lay down in the grass, and stared up at the sky.

* * *

Naruto's Mindscape

* * *

**"Good, he is actually using what I gave him. Not like that Elric, who just needed me like an addict needs a drug. Corrupting this boy will be fun indeed..."** murmured Stormbringer, while entwining more memories into skeletons and zombies.

* * *

End of Chapter 9

* * *

"Knuckle crack the bone, 21 to win."

Reviews Praised, Flames thrown in the dumpster.

-Johnhamsta


	10. Chapter 10

Alright! 10th Chapter!

* * *

100 reviews, 17,000+ hits

* * *

I have sad news. I won't be able to update for a week or something. This is because I am going to California, so...don't worry! Be Happy! I'll be back in the Emerald City soon enough! As I'll be gone...I'm writing a SUPER LONG CHAPTER to appease you all. One person is thinking that the quality of my writing is degrading...oh well, can't win them all.

* * *

Disclaimer! I don't own Naruto or Elric...ON WITH THE SHOW! 

"Blah"-person speaking...'Blah'-person thinking...**"Blah"**-Demon speaking...**'Blah'**-Demon thinking..._"Blah"_-Memory speaking(they don't think)

* * *

Leaves of Steel, Chapter 10

* * *

Tazuna's Pad: 10:00 AM

* * *

Sasuke calmly walked into the main room, where Kakashi-sensei was reading his perverted book. Sakura was presumedly protecting Tazuna with Sai. Sasuke stepped towards his teacher and knocked away his book. 

"Kakashi...What do you know about Naruto?" he demanded.

Kakashi caught the book before it hit the ground, cradling it n his arms, "Well, you already know he was the carrier of the kyubi...and he was trained by Ibiki-sempai...other than his new teacher, I don't know anything special about him." Kakashi stated to get the boy off of his case, brushing away the imaginary dust he saw on his book.

Sasuke didn't know about Naruto' s teacher all that much, so he inquired about him next, "Who IS Elric anyways?" asked the boy.

Kakashi pulled out a notepad, and began to read off of it,

"Elric, King of Melnibonē...Age: Unknown...Weight: Unknown...Blood-type: Unknown...Skin: Very pale...Eye color: Red...Weapon of choice: Magic...Style of battle: Incredibly strong summons...And finally...Rank: Kage-level." Kakashi had read it in a monotone, but added, "Based off of my own confrontation, not the man to challenge. He used to be the bearer of a cursed rune-sword: Stormbringer, apparently capable of stealing the soul of its enemies." Kakashi said in his standard tone.

Sasuke changed the subject, "Naruto is capable of healing jutsu. You might want to have the Hokage informed of that." before walking upstairs.

* * *

Central Forest: 11:45 AM

* * *

Naruto had been practicing making weapons, of all sorts. With his mastery over metal at 75, the boy was crafting them at amazing speeds. Swords, axes, and assorted pole-arms were flying in and out. Naruto moved his hand to a nearby tree's direction, and launched a spinning Kunai through the bark, and stopping in the exact middle of the tree. 

'Even one Kunai can bring the most powerful of Ninja if they can't get it out of their body...that is something I learned from Iruka. Elric taught me that once you have thrown one, its usefulness does not end.' thought the Blond-headed child, as he clenched his hand together, causing metal spikes to protrude from all over the tree.

Naruto pulled the kunai back to his right arm, and moved the metal to his left, shooting a giant cleaver through his skin. Naruto gripped the cleaver, and forced more and more metal into it. The huge blade grew to even greater proportions, before it melted back into Naruto.

'There is, however, a limit to how much metal I can use at once. Once I make the item, It stays in the form I give it, unless I pull the metal inside. I just figured this part out, my body offers no resistance to a metal object, absorbing any metal that hits it, unless I harden my metal form.' Naruto narrated to himself, trying to memorize his limits.

There was only one metal object that he couldn't absorb, his gauntlets. However many times he tried, the gauntlets wouldn't absorb.

'Why won't the gauntlets come into me? I can change them, add metal to them, but there seems to be something protecting their form.'

This confused Naruto greatly, but he had decided not to dwell on it, and try to train his reflexes. He raised shield after shield, deflecting the attacks of a Kage Bunshin.

Increasing the number of Bunshin to 20, Naruto continued to block their attacks. The boy sliced the shadow clones into metal, so they couldn't be called shadow clones any more could they?

A clone slipped behind his defenses, only to be met by a barrage of spikes, growing from Naruto's back. The Genin began to grow wider, and split himself into two.

'God Dammit! I'm like an amoeba or something, If I can get this down, I'll be deadly.' The boy thought with a smirk on his face.

Naruto split his original body again and again, but, unlike a Shadow clone, he retained consciousness in all bodies at the same time. It was like watching multiple television sets. Each body was the same Naruto, with one mind.

Long ago, Naruto had stopped wearing clothes. He no longer needed cloth, he just changed the metal that made up his body into colored thread. Tears repaired themselves, and he could change his appearance at any time. He changed himself into a perfect replication of Sakura, pulling all of his clones back to his body.

'Wow...Her forehead IS gigantic...poor girl...' he thought, before letting his form return to normal on its own.

* * *

Unnamed bridge out of Wave Country 12:15 PM

* * *

Sakura sneezed violently, and as such, failed to notice Sai doing a quick sketch of her panties. Damn, Ninjas move fast. How he did it was only known by him. after all, she wears those shorts... 

Tazuna and his crew were working on the bridge, slowly making progress. The rippling water could be heard on both sides, with intermittent hammering and sawing.

"Hey, Sai?" asked Sakura, "Why do you carry around that book with you? It has a picture of both you and some other kid on it, who is that?"

Sai groaned, and flipped the book open, showing Sakura the contents, "That kid was my brother. He died before I was assigned to this team, some enemy ninja killed him for being in the way. To this day, this picture book will be finished after I kill the men who murdered my brother." Sai said coldly.

Sakura nodded, wondering if Sai got his odd fashion sense from his brother.

* * *

Central Forest: 12:30 PM

* * *

Naruto was lying exhausted on the ground, staring up at the clouds that Shikamaru seemed to value so much. 

'What's so special about the clouds? They provide precipitation, and sometimes resemble things...Oh! A sword! yeah this IS pretty awesome...' thought the Genin.

A figure approached Naruto's prone body out of the mist. It walked up towards Naruto, and revealed itself to be a kid about his age.

"Yo." greeted Naruto plainly.

"Hello, my name is Haku. Who are you, may I ask?" politely greeted Haku.

"The name is Uzumaki Naruto, nice to meet you, Haku-san." responded Naruto dully.

'Is this the same vibrant kid I saw on the road?' wondered the disguised Hunter-Nin.

"Picking herbs, Haku-san?" Naruto asked, interested in the basket Haku was carrying.

"Yes, For...my uncle." Haku replied hesitantly.

Naruto got up, and began to walk off. He produced a metal flower from his hand, and tossed it over to Haku.

"Later...Haku-kun." said Naruto knowingly, leaving a stunned boy in his wake.

* * *

Wave's Bridge-In-Construction: 1:00 PM

* * *

Naruto arrived with Kakashi and Sasuke at the bridge, having been called upon to speed up the process. Tazuna walked up to the newcomers, and handed them plans for the bridge. 

Tazuna pointed to circled areas on each plan map, "These will be your stations, the sooner we finish, the sooner you guys can leave. Get to work." the old man said, handing them hammers and saws.

Naruto quickly formed 30 Kage Bunshin, and told each what they had to do.

* * *

Wave's Bridge-In-Construction: 5:00 PM

* * *

"Great job, Naruto!" began Tazuna, "I think you should ditch being a Ninja, and become a construction worker!" Tazuna proclaimed, after Naruto had finished more work in those 4 hours than every body else's work that entire day. 

'I used my powers, and it all came so easily...faster than these dimwits...' thought the complimented boy, looking at Kakashi and his team.

Naruto gave the group a wave of his hand before retreating to the forest.

Central Forest: 5:10

Naruto was standing alone in the forest, as he had made sure nobody was watching. Naruto did a final surveillance check, and found nobody.

"**Phase**" Naruto said in the demonic-influenced voice, as the Ethereal Plane came into view.

In the odd space that was the ethereal plane, Naruto saw remnants of chakra hanging in the air, most of them were grey, so he walked right towards them and reabsorbed them. Some were tagged with floating tomoe, so Naruto figured they must be Sasuke's. Finally, Naruto noticed a single band of chakra, leading away, with small snowflakes circling around it.

'The only other person here was...Haku...' thought the blond-haired child as he took off after the line.

* * *

North-West Wave Country: 5:30

* * *

Naruto had been following the chakra line for quite a while, only to notice another join it. The new line was a blood-red, with small versions of Zabuza's Zanbato hanging off of it. 

'If those are Zabuza's...then Haku must be...That fake Hunter-Nin!' realized Naruto, who took off at high speeds following the ice-cold line. As he ran, Naruto saw the lines grow bolder, as he neared a large chakra source.

Naruto stepped into the clearing, to bear witness to Haku and Zabuza plotting the downfall of Kakashi and the rest of his team. Naruto quickly pulled out a scroll and pen, writing down the words they said.

"Haku, when we reach the bridge at 0800 hours in two days, you are to hide in the water, where you will use that surprise to counter the first attack the enemy makes. Use an overly-sufficiant amount of senbon, made by your ice when you are hiding, to make them under-estimate your accuracy. Then, throw senbon at Kakashi, as well as the bridge-builder, Aim to kill instantly, BEFORE Kakashi can use his Sharingan. At this point, I will activate the mist, so stay on your guard. That Uchiha they have with them appears to not know his own Sharingan, so use your speed against him. I will be attacking Kakashi, as your attack is likely to be stopped. If The Uchiha does not down in the first instant, Go for...Sai...I think his name is." ordered Zabuza as Naruto wrote all this down.

"After disposing of those two, go after pinky, that large forehead should serve as a decent target." Finished Momochi Zabuza, the S-ranked missing-Nin.

Haku, remembering Naruto, asked, "What about Uzumaki Naruto, the Blonde one? The one who beat both Demon Brothers single handedly?"

"Haku, you must either kill him on sight, or ask him to join us. If he says 'no', you MUST kill him." calmly answered the eye-browless freak.

Naruto shuddered as he heard his own death sentence, but finished writing his report on the situation. Not wanting to get found out, Naruto stayed in the Ethereal Realm. He wouldn't fare so well against both Haku AND Zabuza.

Naruto did the thing he thought appropriate, he shattered the Metal flower that he gave to Haku with his mind.

"What!?" shouted Haku incredulously, as he held the shattered flower, "Why did Naruto's flower shatter? He was so cute!"

Zabuza backed away a little, "Haku...Are you...infatuated with that boy? Are you...y'know...of alternate sexual orientation?" Zabuza asked, obviously freaked out.

Haku looked VERY miffed, "YES! YES I AM! DO HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT, ZABUZA?" shouted Haku loudly, holding an Icy dagger to Zabuza's throat.

"Ummm...no?" Zabuza attempted to say.

"Good. I didn't want to kill you...And I'm not going to kill that boy!" stated Haku, arms crossed.

"Haku...those are orders from Gato..." mumbled Zabuza.

"I DON'T CARE! HE'S MINE! MINE I SAY!" screamed Haku, holding a newly made Naruto plushie.

Naruto backed away, far, far away, breaking into a run back to town.

* * *

Far away in Konoha: same time

* * *

Hinata had that feeling again...the feeling that told her someone was after Naruto, in a romantic way. It had only happened once before, when she was at home, sick, forced to sit out seeing Naruto leave for his mission. She hadn't gotten to leave that ENTIRE day. 

'Someone is after MY Naruto-kun!' thought Hinata, breaking out into a sweat.

* * *

Elsewhere in Konoha, Training ground 14

* * *

Tenten noticed an odd vibration in the air, but decided to let it go.

* * *

Land of Waves: Tazuna's Pad: 6:30

* * *

Naruto had just finished explaining everything, sans the things that Haku said about him, as well as how he avoided detection, to Kakashi and Team 7. 

"Great job, Naruto!" applauded Kakashi, "I'll make sure your sensei hears about your wonderful skills of observation. BUT you really shouldn't have gone by yourself. What I don't get, is how Zabuza or Haku didn't find you out, you aren't good at hiding your chakra at all." noted the scarecrow.

Naruto patted the top of his right hand, to which Kakashi nodded in understanding.

Naruto finished his dinner, and, deciding that it wouldn't be safe to sleep outside because of Haku, Naruto choose to sleep in the room he had been granted. The blue-eyed boy walked towards the stairs, only to have Inari follow him.

When they reached the top, Inari told Naruto, "I got in some training with your present today, It was awesome! Thanks a lot!" said Inari, before hugging Naruto goodnight.

Naruto entered his room happily, well other than the fact that another guy was obsessed over him. Naruto laid his head down, and fell asleep.

* * *

Naruto's Dreamscape

* * *

Naruto found himself standing in front of Stormbringer's altar, exactly where he was last time. The imprint of the sword was shimmering, and the room was as dark as when he had left. 

**"Finally you return, Naruto."** said the voice that Naruto had come to realize was Stormbringer's, **" I was watching your training, and I must say, VERY impressive. With the proper training, you could defeat Elric even! I've decided to give you another mission. Do you remember that sword Zabuza had?"** asked the god of the void.

"Yeah...I remember his Zanbato...what about it?" inquired Naruto nervously.

The demonic voice began again, **"I want you to posses THAT blade. I don't really care for the ones you make, and will not give you the same sword that was give to Elric. My presence needs a host, and it must already be corrupt enough to not be destroyed. That sword Zabuza has will be perfect. Find him, kill him, and take his sword. Only then will I train you to handle my greatness. The old sword was WAY too cramped, and WEAK, EVER SO WEAK."** Stormbringer demanded.

**"So...you can forget about collecting my pieces...but I'm not going to forget about killing your mind, so GET TO IT! Collect those pieces, and I shall reward you. Until then, take your absence of this place, come back with another part of me. If you do it very well, I might decide to cease my attack on your brain, but, until then, expect death."** the voice disappeared into the shadows.

Naruto ran out of the tower, to be greeted by a small army of skeletons, about 20, led by a black-bladed ogre.

_"Good evening, Naruto-sama, might we trouble you for your life?_"the ogre asked politely, raising its tusked war-mask.

"Sure thing, but I'm not going to give it to you." stated Naruto, forming a full set of white armor, along with a medieval long-sword and shield he saw in a movie, "You'll have to take it from me!" he shouted, before charging at the skeleton horde.

The first three skeletons threw wooden spears at Naruto, who hardened his armor to the point where the spears entirely splintered to pieces. The gallant knight split into three of himself, and each smote the skeleton before them. All three Naruto's charged into the fight, while another, light-armored archer, sprung from the original's back.

The archer produced a bow of the white metal, and a full quiver of arrows, dull grey, formed from his back. As soon as the archer's glowing hand touched an arrow, it turned bight white, and was propelled through the air into the skull of an unsuspecting skeleton.

Naruto saw no need to waste time, so he sent a flat, horizontal, piece of metal through the waists of the horde, cutting all but the ogre in twain. The sheet receded, to reveal that the skeletons were all crumbling. The remaining Narutos pulled back into the original, who placed his hand on the ogre's left leg, and shouted, "**Rend!**" shattering the bone into powder.

As the ogre fell, Naruto cut off its head, and laid his left hand upon the black sword, and said, "Evil Sealing Method: Soul Seal!" causing the dark blade to shatter and reform, with the aid of the skeleton's energies, into a shard of the sword. This one, however, did not fly towards the pedestal, so Naruto reasoned that it had not collected enough souls, and set off for more.

As he set off, Naruto saw the marching dust of an army, leading to the Cerebral Castle, 'Oh no!' thought Naruto, 'I can't let them destroy my mind!' and with that, he sprouted stilts again, and dashed off towards the marching army.

As he ran, Naruto encountered roaming skeletons and zombies. Instead of wasting his time on them, Naruto sent metal spines through their skulls, shattering them for easy kills. The souls of the defeated flew into his shard, but were not enough to make it fly. Naruto hastened towards the army, to count their numbers.

'Holy Shit!' he thought, 'over a hundred small ones, AND 3 large ones; a two-headed wolf, a giant snake, and a large spiked crab! This can't be good.'

The entire army halted, and turned towards him. suddenly, Naruto was subject to a barrage of arrows, included within them were poison streams, pairs of fireballs, and steaming spines. Naruto raised both of his hands and produced the most powerful; shield he had, glowing white.

The shots dropped off of the dome-shield, and the sound of rushing enemies was what made Naruto withdraw his shield into a ridiculous imitation of a Zanbato. at least 3 meters long, it was only good for one blow. The boy sliced through at least 15 enemies, and dispersed his blade into hundreds of spines, stabbing blindly at the forces of darkness. Naruto unleashed barrage after barrage of these, leaving a wall of dust to block off his vision.

The warrior made a giant fan, and blew away the dust, as well as a couple of light-armored skeletons. Only about 20 were left, and these had shards of dark metal in their armor. The hell-hound roared, and two massive fireballs came Naruto's way. Joining those fireballs were silent steams of venom, as well as spinning spines from the crab and the snake.

Naruto shouted "**Phase!**" and slipped past the attacks, taking the chance to cut the head off of the snake.

As he got close to the snake, he noticed that the scales that made up its skin were all of the dark metal, as was the collars of the hound, and the claws of the crab. Naruto thought up a good idea, which he had been doing a lot of lately.

Forming his vine-hands, Naruto hit all 5 areas on his enemies, and shouted, "Evil Sealing Method: Soul Seal!" and shattered the skin, claws, and collars of his opponents.

The shattered Dark metal had yet to reform, as all of his foes had yet to be vanquished. Naruto decided to use the thing he had recovered from Kyubi-chan for the first time.

Forming his hands into the fox/tiger seal, Naruto said, "Vulpine Terror Charm!" and immediatly felt the effects.

Naruto bones were forced into a four-legged position, and he felt a tail spring out from his lower back. He felt another tail, followed by more, until 9 in total had popped on out. Fur covered his entire body, as he grew to immense proportions.

'Is this what it is like to be Kyubi-chan?' wondered the boy, as he looked around at his new body, 'Orange coat, dark streaks, glowing white front paws, nothing is wrong here...Time to squish some fools!' shouted the boy in his mind.

Naruto launched his massive paws on top of the enemy, crushing them while thinking, "Evil Sealing Method: Soul Seal' so he could get rid of their shards.

After smashing the final one into little bits, Naruto felt the effects of the transformation wear off, as he returned to his normal self. At that point the dark shards reformed along with his, and began to devour the memories, so it could gain power. The massive piece Naruto was holding was easily the length of a short sword. That fragment hurtled towards the obsidian tower, so Naruto followed.

At the tower once more, Naruto walked up to the pedestal, to see that the Sword was a little more than half-way filled. Two floating orbs were on either end of the pedestal, held by shadowy claws.

**"Good job, Naruto. Going at this rate, you might be able to start learning the next time you visit. Take your rewards; 'Control', which evicts an enemy from their body into the ethereal plane, where they will be just a spirit, which you can put back if you so wish, and 'Corrupt', for those times when you need my power. Using 'Corrupt' WILL prove hazardous to your health, but gives you unmatched speed, dexterity, and raw power. You can also 'Corrupt' your metal, giving it that dark sheen you previously were destroying."** announced the dark voice.

"But how about the seals on my hands, wont those purify my metal all over again?" asked the boy, raising his hands to show the seals.

Stormbringer pondered over this, before deciding, **"Not if I give you full control over which one you use. Touch my symbol on your torso to switch between the two."** Stormbringer finally said, **"Speaking of which...I'm changing it, the symbol that is. I'm thinking a massive, pitch-black eye...yeah, that'll do nicely."**

Naruto felt the skin began to flow around, as the 'ink', if you could call it that, formed into a bloodshot eye, with a sword for a pupil. The eye then 'shut' itself, and all that was visible was a black line.

**"Take your gifts and go."** directed Stormbringer, letting the orbs free of their roosts.

Naruto walked up to the orbs and took one in each hand. As the power flowed into him, the eye opened wide, and then closed. The pull of the waking hour was felt, and Naruto felt the Dreamscape drift away.

* * *

Tazuna's Pad: 8:30 AM

* * *

Naruto woke in the morning, and found himself sweaty from his battles in his dreams. Deciding to take a shower, Naruto knocked on the bathroom door to see if anybody was in there. 

"Naruto, wait your god-damned turn." came a muffled voice, most likely Sasuke.

"Fine. Call me when you're done." Said Naruto, as he went downstairs for breakfast, which consisted of; rice, carrots, yams, and apples.

Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter, greeted Naruto cheerfully, "Good morning, Naruto! Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, thank you." Naruto said, while thinking, 'If you can call participating in a massive battle against a horde of hell-spawn "Sleeping" well.'

As Naruto finished, he heard Sasuke call him, "Yo! Naruto! Your turn!" so he ran upstairs after thanking Tsunami for breakfast.

Naruto was going to take a long shower. After removing his gauntlets, Naruto saw that the seal on his hands had changed to that of a sword. pushing chakra into the symbol on his stomach, the eye opened to reveal the curved triangle as the pupil. Deciding to switch the seals, Naruto briefly touched the eye, and the seals switched out. His hands lightly glowed white, he was surprised nobody noticed that the 'tattoos' on his hands had been different.

It was not that Naruto needed a shower, more that he wanted one. He could have always shaken off his outer layer of 'skin', and then reabsorbed the metal only. The beat of the water felt good on his body, and he greatly appreciated the fact that he didn't rust, as he was a solid. Stepping out of the bath, Naruto's clothes formed again, coloring themselves in.

'Time to change my clothes' thought the boy, so he did, switching them out for a pitch-black robe, tied at the waist to allow his feet to move freely.

Naruto inlaid copper spirals on his robe at the shoulders, and a Konoha leaf on the back. Taking the time to place pockets in the robe, Naruto added kunai and shuriken, so as to make others think he had a limited supply of weapons. He was no longer sure how much metal he was carrying, but he knew that he had as much as one needs to outfit an army. Naruto stepped out of the bathroom, and as he did, Sakura slipped in hastily behind him, eyeing his outfit before shutting the door.

Naruto went downstairs, to be greeted by Kakashi, lazily turning his head to check out what Naruto was wearing, "Nice threads, where did you get them?" asked the open pervert behind his book.

"When you have a lot of free time, sometimes you have to have hobbies, right, pervert?" Naruto said, trying to get Kakashi annoyed.

"Yup!" Kakashi said happily, "If you want, I could lend you one of my books..."

Naruto backed away startled, "I'm going to pass on that one."

"Suit yourself." said the lazy man plainly, "It's your turn to watch the bridge builder, Naruto."

Naruto nodded and left with Tazuna to the bridge.

Tazuna looked at his companion and asked, "Where did you pull those clothes out of? A scroll or something?"

Naruto covered up his actions with a simple, "Sure, why not?"

* * *

Water Country's Near-Finished Bridge: 9:15 AM

* * *

Naruto had been working for a while on the bridge, while guarding the client simultaneously. Metal clones were very helpful, as Naruto used them to gather scrap metal from the bridge's construction, as well as work on the bridge. 

After the group had learned about the attack, Naruto formulated a plan with the bridge workers. He would replace them all with clones the next day, so they wouldn't be killed, while they prepare an army to battle in the case of a failure. A simple plan that resulted in minimal casualties, only Tazuna would be present the day of the attack to stop the bridge from falling apart during the battle.

Naruto went back to work, fusing pieces of metal together.

* * *

Water Country's REALLY CLOSE-to Finished Bridge: 5:00 PM

* * *

The workers all left, after achieving more in the time Naruto had been there then they had any other WEEK. As the workers waved Naruto and Tazuna goodbye, the pair looked at the work completed that day. 

"Naruto, you did great! Now all of the workers can stay alive." praised the old man, "You have done more for this bridge than anybody else, building it, protecting it, and protecting the workers. You truly are a great Ninja."

Naruto was blushing from the praise, but laughed it off, "Yeah! I am great!" as the duo walked back to Tazuna's house.

* * *

Central Forest: 5:25 PM

* * *

Naruto had left Tazuna's house to train his new seal in the forest. Switching the seal by means of the eye, Naruto watched the effects. 

The gauntlets he had been wearing, while previously white, they turned black and spiky, with ruby lightning and fire designs. His hands glowed an eerie green, wispy smoke rising from them. Forming armor from the gauntlets produced a dark armor, spiked in various places, but very form fitting. Where a shining helm once was, a face-mask took its place. The mask was pitch black, with ruby-red flames curving inwards to the right eye. It was jointed at the Jaw, with a covering of overly long teeth. Out of his shoulders sprung small spiked-guards The torso was muscled, with the Symbol of the eye showing up on the abdomen.

Naruto's lower body had the same form-fiiting armor, but the shins were covered in vertical blades, with the kneecaps protected by spikes. The boots were lightly plated, with spurs in the front and back.

A vertical flame ran up the entire right side of his body, and also ran up from his right arm, spiraling around it. The gauntlets' fingers had taken on spikes at the joints, pointing outwards. Turning his hand over, Naruto saw where the flame originated at, in a spiral at the center of his hand, sending tongues of flame down the undersides of his fingers, and the main flame through the wrist.

Clenching his right fist after looking at hit, Naruto produced an eastern-european broadsword, and watched the black metal it took its shape. Where a standard broadsword had cross-guards, this one had draconic wings. The blade itself was black, and had a dragon's head image in the metal of the tip, with the wavy pommel making up the tail. Naruto remembered the form of the sword, so he could use it later. After all, it was bad-ass.

In his left hand, Naruto produced a shield to match his sword. The shield came from his left forearm, and shaped itself into a dragon's folded wing. At the top of the shield was a dragon's head, opened and roaring.

All in all, Naruto loved the outfit, so decide to tell Stormbringer about it by going into the Ethereal plane, "**Phase**" he said, drifting into the Ethereal Realm.

**"Nice duds, Naruto. Try corrupting the blade and shield, it draws out the latent power you subconsciously placed in them. Now go away, loser."** said Stormbringer rather rudely, as Naruto went back to his standard realm.

Focusing his chakra into the blade and shield, Naruto uttered, "**Corrupt**".

The blade of the sword began to shimmer red, until it caught on fire, spewing its flame from the cross-guard. The shield began to look rather scaly, until the dragon's wing looked rather real. The shield unfolded itself, and turned into a pair of wings.

'Holy shit!' thought the boy, as the wing proceeded to beat, raising him into the air, 'Hey! I can see Tazuna's house from here!'

Controlling the wings with his mind, Naruto brought himself back down to earth, before dissipating the chakra, returning the armor, sword, and shield to his gauntlets.

He switched out his seals again, and walked back to Tazuna's.

* * *

Tazuna's Pad 5:45

* * *

Naruto came back to the house, to join everybody in an early dinner, as they had to be rested for tomorrow's battle. Naruto said goodnight to everyone, and went to bed.

* * *

End of Chapter 10

* * *

Did everyone like the extra long cliffhanger? Some people might accuse my of overpowering, but I personally think its just awesome to have such cool weapons. After all...If you have a SHORT life, live it to its fullest. Merry Christmahanukwanzaka! 

-Johnhamsta


	11. Chapter 11

Alright! 11th Chapter!

* * *

115 reviews, 21,000+ hits 

I'm back from California! This means...NEW CHAPTER! I had water damage at my house, so it smells like mildew...yeah...

* * *

Disclaimer! I don't own Naruto, Elric, nor anything else I use...I do own the story though, so no funny ideas!...ON WITH THE SHOW! 

"Blah"-person speaking...'Blah'-person thinking...**"Blah"**-Demon speaking...**'Blah'**-Demon thinking..._"Blah"_-Memory speaking(they don't think)

* * *

Leaves of Steel, Chapter 11

* * *

Hokage's Office- Konoha: 7:00PM

* * *

Elric was sitting patiently in midair, levitating whilst meditating. The Albino had been waiting for all of 3 minutes before the Hokage walked slowly in. 

"Been waiting long, Elric-sama? I hope my age isn't troubling you." the old man slowly spoke.

Elric straightened his legs and descended softly to the ground, "Not really Sarutobi, just noticing something terribly wrong."

The sandaime lifted his eyebrow, and lowered his hat, "The sword?"

Elric nodded, "It would appear that Stormbringer is testing his bounds. It will not matter, as I assisted Arashi in the sealing. Even Arioch couldn't beak those bonds."

"Good." the Hokage said, "We don't want those EITHER of the swords appearing ever again. Stormbringer could level all of Fire country, so what would happen if the other arrived?"

"That, Sarutobi, would result in the destruction this entire planet." the albino said in a dark tone.

The Hokage took his seat, and brought out mission papers. He also brought out an Ink set, for thumb-printing. He thumbed through his selection, and pulled out a golden colored sheet.

"Elric, as you currently reside in this Village, and your charge isn't here, We expect a few missions. As for which ones you will be assigned, I have chosen some of the most difficult, as to not bore you." said Sarutobi.

"It's not like I've traveled through time and space, driven a ship over land, and slain an entire dimension or anything. What do you have?" Elric said sarcastically.

The Hokage displayed the three selections, "Rescue Kurenai Yuhi and her Genin team from some bandits, Assassination of a rival bandit leader that will lead in the return of the team, or...kill or capture ALL the bandits and take the team back by force. In other words, two A's and an S. Your choice."

Elric thought this over while examining the pictures of the captive team, "I'll take the S-rank, AND the Assassination A-rank. Map, please."

The hokage handed the map to Elric, who vanished in a ball of fire, leaving behind his thumbprint adorning the mission card.

* * *

Far outskirts of the Fire Country: 9:07PM

* * *

Galloping at full pace, Kawska and his rider charged towards the light of a large Bandit camp. Coming to a halt 50 meters away, Elric dismounted quietly, and tapped some silencing runes on his boots. Approaching the camp, Elric made out the figures of Kurenai and her team, bound completely, with a cloth covering for Kurenai's eyes, nose-plugs for Kiba, a lead-infused ribbon around Hinata's head, and cans of Raid, attached to chakra controlled strings, surrounding Shino. 

Elric pulled out a small clay hive, and painted runes on it with the pollen of nearby flowers. He then place the hive on the ground, and rolled it into the bandit camp. A faint buzzing could be heard, and a swarm of bees stormed out. After each bandit in the area was silently stung with a knock-out agent, Elric bound each with a sealing rune.

Walking up to the captured team, Elric lifted the traps and bindings on them, "Are you alright everyone? Medical needs, etc?"

All four members answered at the same time, well, Hinata didn't SAY anything.

Kurenai-"Basic wrappings for Kunai damage."

Kiba-"My nose-plugs back, this place stinks!"

Shino-"A couple soldier pills would be good."

Hinata-'Naruto needs...MAJOR Naruto needs...' she shook her head no.

Elric cast a quick healing spell on Kurenai, for minor damage, gave Kiba his plugs back, and hooked Shino up with some pills to pop. He could sadly not give Hinata what she wanted, nor did he know what it was.

Kurenai gazed at the albino, 'His eyes are red like mine. There is also something about the way he carries himself...that is just so...appealing...' she thought, casting a minor genjutsu to mask her blush.

Elric began to write on a scroll, using oddly colored inks, to make a design that was utterly confusing, and placed it on the ground.

"There is nothing quite like teleportation over incredible distances. good thing I placed the other scroll in Konoha before I left, no trip that way. Step on, one at a time, when all of you are there, destroy the scroll on that end." Elric said proudly, "Kurenai, would you be so good to place this scroll, completely open, on the floor of the Konoha prison, the bandits will be along shortly." he added, handing Kurenai an overly large scroll.

Kurenai nodded, and stepped onto the set scroll, disappearing along with her team after her. After the scroll stopped glowing, it tore itself into pieces.

* * *

Naruto's roof, Konoha: 9:13

* * *

'I'm on Naruto's house!' squealed the Lavender-eyed stalker, running off to hide the spy gear she had placed on Naruto's roof previously. 

"Hinata..." interrupted Kurenai, "We NOTICED the large satellite dish and observation station. It was quite obvious..."

Hinata blushed furiously, and ran with her group to set up the scroll.

* * *

Fire Country Outskirts: 9:17PM

* * *

Elric shoved the last of the bandits, including those from the rival camp, leaving the leader of the rival gang in his custody. As the last bandit vanished, a large wasp appeared in front of the original summoner.

**"Elric, is this the sacrifice for my clan's services?"** inquired the giant insect.

"As long as I get the head for kill confirmation, the body is yours." bowed Elric.

**"Shuper Shweet!"** said the demon wasp rather loudly, severing the head off the bandit and vanishing with the body.

Elric calmly mounted Kawska and took off, leaving a trail of bandit blood from the severed head behind him.

* * *

Hokage's Office, Konoha 11:12PM

* * *

The sandaime handed a large envelope of money to Elric, who accepted it with glee. Kurenai and her team just got back from the their full physical to make sure that they were fine. No pay for mission completion, but instead, pay for forced leave. 

Elric pulled out a moderately large amount of money, and passed it to each member, "Here." as he got raised eyebrows in response, "I have no real need for this money, I already have what I need."

Kurenai let slip, "How about what you want?" and then covered her mouth.

Elric looked at the floor, and spoke in shadowed words, "I cannot have that which I most desire. What I most desire does not exist. What I most desire...is DEAD." and walked out, leaving a stunned team behind him.

Kurenai dismissed her team, and ran to follow him.

She walked up to him, sitting along with the Albino, and asked, "What's wrong?"

Elric opened a large tome. He flipped to a the front, revealing a coiled dragon seal.

"This is my Ruler's Tome, the last memory of my since-defeated kingdom. I used to rule all of Melnibonē, until the dragons woke for the last time." Elric sadly said, forcing a smile.

"Dragons? You had dragons!?" Kurenai asked incredulously.

"Yes, we used to have hundreds, they were our might, and it is them we have to thank for keeping our war-hungry society alive. When the final dragon fell to the sands of time, the empire destroyed itself. I was the 428th direct descendant of the original Sorcerer-kings of Melnibonē. I am the most powerful one they have seen for generations. But my cousin, Prince Yyrkoon, made many stupid decisions involving war. Because of his greed, he opened the shadow gate, and went in a quest for the mightiest weapons in existence, so he could overthrow me." Elric reminisced.

"Your own cousin? What were the weapons he sought?" Asked Kurenai, to keep Elric talking.

"He sought the two rune-blades, Stormbringer-the god of the void, imprisoned in the gate by my own people, and Mournblade, the sister-sword, and balancer of Stormbringer, but another god of the void none the less. I followed him by means of converting to the lead of Arioch, a god of chaos. He had been a protector of my kingdom, and was ready to accept me. I took up his coat-tails, in a manner of speaking, and he granted me the access to the shadow gate."

"Is Arioch powerful?" Kurenai asked to better understand the one with the skin the color of a bleached skull.

"Very much so, but he is only a minor god." Elric responded, and then continued, "Going into the gate was mostly a blur, but I met a kind archer, imprisoned there, who I chose to aid me in exchange for his freedom. We made our way to the caves of writhing flesh, and in it, found Yyrkoon, trying to take both of them. I challenged him, and Stormbringer flew to my hand, Mournblade to Yyrkoon's. We engaged in combat, but it seemed as though the blades were just using us to act out their own struggle. I bested the will of both blades, and law my cousin to the floor. I didn't kill him, as I did not like to kill. As mournblade lay vanquished, it glowed, and turned into a sheath for Stormbringer."

"But where did you put the sheath? If Naruto has the power that Yyrkoon was trying to obtain..." Kurenai thought darkly.

"Trust me, my dear. I hid the sheath elsewhere, so as not to kill us all." Elric said confidently.

"But what will happen without the sheath?" Kurenai asked innocently.

"Oh...merde..." cursed Elric, "I suppose it will eventually consume him, or become free and unadulterated. Hopefully, with this thing you Ninja call 'Chakra' he might be able to subdue it..."

"That is a dark prospect Elric..." her blood ruby-colored eyes met Elric's eyes of an equal red.

Elric stared at her, 'What a resemblance this woman bears to Cymoril...' and asked, "Miss Yuhi, would you like to join me for a late dinner?"

'OH YEAH!' she thought, while saying, "I'd love to!" very politely, and walked off under the stars to a fancy restaurant with the albino.

* * *

Land of Waves, Tazuna's pad: 6:37 AM

* * *

Naruto woke, but was wondering why he had no dream. Every night he had those dreams, and last night he had none. 

"**Phase.**" he called, and slipped into the Ethereal realm.

**"Ah, Naruto...what do you want?"** the representation of Stormbringer asked.

"Why didn't I have a dream? Is something wrong?" the boy asked worriedly.

**"I have been suspending the dream to both ready my form, and allow you mind to recover. We wouldn't want any unnecessary mental stress now, would we?"** the un-sealed sword spoke.

"Oh, I see the logic behind that, I'm going to go now. Bye!" said the Blue-eyed Genin.

**"Remember to get Momochi Zabuza's sword, will you?"** the god of the void reminded Naruto as the boy phased back into existence.

Naruto came back to the standard realm to the knocking on his door.

"Naruto! Prepare for the bridge!" shouted Kakashi.

"Sure thing Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto shouted back, while thinking, 'Even though I could take zabuza on my own...' and checked his equipment.

'Cloak...check. Boots...check. Gauntlets...check. Not being as useless as Sakura is at this time...priceless!' he thought to himself before leaving for the bridge.

As the group left the house, Naruto split off a metal clone to protect Tsunami an d her son. As he could control it like a second body, it would be quite easy.

* * *

Land of Waves, Tazuna's Bridge: 8:00AM

* * *

Naruto placed standard shadow clones henge'd to look like Team 7 and the bridge-builder, around the bridge, so as to get surprise. When Zabuza created mist, Naruto was ready. 

"Kakashi! come out to play!" shouted Zabuza.

Naruto stood right in front of Zabuza, "Hey, Momochi!" shouted Naruto.

"You want to die first, kid?" asked Zabuza in an evil tone.

"No." responded Naruto, "I want to propose a wager."

Zabuza thought it over, and then answered, "What will it be kid?"

"If I kill you, I get your sword." Naruto said, pointing at Zabuza's blade, "If you kill ME, then you can count on your imminent demise at the hands of my village. Does this sound fair?"

Zabuza laughed, "Sure kid, come at me!" and held his arms out.

Naruto 'pulled' a katana from his back, and performed a mid-air spiraling slash at Zabuza. Just as he was about to connect, he sensed senbon flying at him, so he was forced to block instead of attack. # of the 18 connected, and instead of sinking in, Naruto kept them at their locations and pretended to hit the ground injured.

"Naruto-kunn..." cooed Haku, "I'm sorry for marring your beautiful skin, will you ever forgive me?"

Naruto got up, and answered, "You...are MESSED UP, Haku!" and charged at Zabuza again.

Zabuza chuckled, and swung his zanbato at Naruto, barely missing his torso. Naruto decided to actually attack, and let loose a Burning Winds attack with his katana. The residue was deflected by Haku's needles, but brought back on course by Naruto's chakra. Zabuza barely had time to perform a switch with a water clone before it was decimated by the shrapnel.

Zabuza swung at Naruto and connected with the spinal column, sending Naruto to sprawl on the ground, seemingly unconscious.

"Zabuza-sama! What Did you do to Naruto-kunnnn!!" shouted the fake hunter-nin, as he rushed to Naruto's side.

Sasuke was first over the side of the bridge, and as such, punched the unwary Haku in the solar plexus. Sai followed with painted rhinos directed at the demon of the mist. Sakura stood there, being useless, while Kakashi charged along with the Ink rhinos.

Zabuza easily dispatched the rhinos, and hid from the sharingan in the mist. Sai performed a roundhouse kick to Haku's torso, and Sasuke launched a stream of fire at the falling boy. Naruto quickly rolled over to Zabuza's location and sprung up.

"**Phase.**" said the boy, vanishing from Zabuza's awareness.

'Where is that brat?' wondered Momochi before feeling the sting of palm in the middle of his lower back.

Naruto touched Zabuza, and as such, returned to the physical realm, followed up by the utterance of, "**Rend!**" shattering Zabuza's spine into tiny shards, which, in turn, shot through his body at many locations.

Kakashi's jaw hit the floor, as he witnessed Naruto kill one of the seven swordsmen of the mist. The boy had done it without remorse, and taken Zabuza's sword during the man's decent.

"Oi! Haku!" shouted Naruto, "I've killed Zabuza!"

Haku couldn't believe his ears, Naruto, the boy he had a crush on, killed his savior and life-time friend. Haku pulled out icy senbon, and quickly swiveled around. Only Sasuke was able to dodge. Sai took three Senbon to the heart, and fell to the ground. That is, BEFORE the needles exploded.

Naruto was scarcely able to dodge the volley of needles thrown at him, with assorted ice and metal senbon hitting him at the same time. Haku charged Naruto, and struck him with a large spike made completely of ice. The shimmering ice pierced Naruto's stomach, and Haku expected blood, for the spike was 8 inches in diameter.

Haku was sorely mistaken, Naruto pulled himself off of the spike in the mist, where nobody could see them.

"I'm done holding back Haku!" shouted the vessel of the god of the void.

Naruto swung Zabuza's sword, and time seemed to slow. Haku was defenseless, and quite injured. The metal needles he had thrown were sinking into Naruto's skin. The ice ones were being melted, and the wounds were sealing up. Not a single drop of the boys blood had fallen.

The sword underwent a transformation as it was swung, **"Now, let my power be felt through the world! Let my chaos engulf this sword, and tear through the fabric of sanity! Blood! Souls! Aid me now!"** and with that, a dark vortex emanated from the sword, as it cut through Haku's neck.

Naruto felt the sword pulse, and his seals switch. He then felt Haku's neck give way, and the head part from its body. Haku was smiling. Naruto stared at the sword that did it.

The handle was forged of the dark metal Naruto had grown to know. The blade was black as well, but still retained the size of Zabuza's sword. Runes could be seen upon the sword, calling out to the void's power, in a language understood by none. Not only was the gigantic, it had changed its shape. Now, the sword was 8 inches across, perfectly straight until the end, where it terminated in an inverted crescent, with the sides overhanging.

An unearthly mist was flowing off of the blade, and Stormbringer's voice rang clearly in Naruto's mind, **"Free at last! Good job Naruto! Now I can share with you what you have earned!"** rang the voice.

Naruto felt power flow into him, power the likes of which he had never felt before. Naruto swung the sword above his head, and raised it to the heavens. He then brought it down upon Haku's lifeless body, splitting it in twain.

**"Naruto, I am going to sleep until I feel like helping you. If you require my power, like this I give you, just hold the sword. If you require greater power, call 'blood and souls! Aid me now!'. I expect lives in return, but no need to pay me immediatly."** and with that, the sword fell silent. Naruto place the sword on his back, where he made a sheath with his metal. The sheath had a top, which closed to hide the mighty blade.

Kakashi ran up to Naruto as the mist cleared, and lay sight to the mutilated bodies of Haku and Zabuza. Kakashi saw the case on Naruto's back, and Zabuza's missing blade. Before he had a chance to ask Naruto about the sword, a voice rang from the end of the bridge.

"Thank you, Konoha Ninja, for slaying those guys before I had to pay them." said Gato, the shipping magnate, before addressing Naruto directly, "By the way, boy...You keep that sword, don't let anybody try to take it away. You keep what you kill."

Gato was surrounded by thugs, and many were they. Kakashi motioned Naruto back, but he refused to stand down.

"Naruto! I will take it from here! Rest!" ordered Kakashi, who was pushed back by Naruto suddenly.

"Kakashi-sensei, pay attention to your two remaining team-members, not me. I must do this alone. If I need help, step in. But until then, I will do this." claimed Naruto.

Kakashi nodded, and saw Naruto pop the top of the case, and pull out his shadowed blade, 'Holy shit! I have to tell Elric-sama!' Kakashi thought.

Naruto made the Searing Hands seal, and his sword let loose a firestorm worthy of a dragon whelp. Naruto charged with the energy given to him by simply touching the mighty rune-blade.

As Naruto approached, he focused chakra to his hands, and, in a spark of innovation, shouted, "Flaming Blade: 100 strikes!" as his blade flew about the minions who had moved in front of their paycheck.

With each hit, the blade struck cleanly, severing parts and heads. With each kill, Naruto felt renewed power, growing with each hit.

**'Ah...even though I am resting, the souls and blood feel good. This should pay for any uses. If only Elric had wielded me in this manner, slaying hundreds.'** Stormbringer thought to itself, passing along permanent strength to the boy.

Naruto felled the final bandit, and, without a break, severed the head off of the crime boss. He then kicked the head off of the bridge in mid-air. Naruto stared as his sword absorbed the blood it was covered in. The boy ran it through each body, draining them as dry as roasted cardboard. after he was done, he returned it to its sheath.

Naruto stepped into the horde of concerned people that had gathered around Sai's body, "Sai...are you...holy shit!" said Naruto as he saw the body in pieces.

The boy fell to his knees, and began to stare, "I...I was weak...Sai...Sai died because of me!" he cried.

"Naruto," began Kakashi, "It was not your fault. Ninja die in battle. There is nothing to change that. You need to accept his death." he said, consoling the boy.

Naruto nodded, and rose to his feet, "Tazuna-san..." he said officiously, "I think our mission is over, Gato, his thugs, and all 4 enemy ninja are dead. I would like to leave now."

Tazuna gave Naruto a nod,"You have my permission to go home, and take this statement that you have completed your mission." he said as he gave Kakashi a scroll.

* * *

Konoha, 9:27AM, the next day.

* * *

Naruto came back to the village, to be greeted by Elric. 

Elric's first question was, "Let me see it."

Naruto complied, and took out the sword, "Here."

Elric ran his hands over the flat of the cold blade, "It has been a while, Stormbringer."

* * *

A shadowed Kunochi was watching from the shadows, as she pulled out the selfsame kunai she had placed there previously, "Amazing blade, Naruto-kun. I can't wait to see what it can do. Be strong!" as she vanished again.

* * *

End of Chapter 11

* * *

Yay! Actual plot! 

Reviews answered, Flames taunted.

-Johnhamsta


	12. Chapter 12

Alright! 12th Chapter!

* * *

126 reviews, 24,000+ hits, you guys must really like me!

Sorry about the incredible delay, I've been held up with enough schoolwork to keep me from this. I was also having the best New Year's I've had in 8 years. Right then...nothing else to say...

* * *

Disclaimer! I don't own Naruto, Elric, nor anything else I use...I do own all of my little quirks I put in my stories, as well as my DNA...ON WITH THE SHOW! 

"Blah"-person speaking...'Blah'-person thinking...**"Blah"**-Demon speaking...**'Blah'**-Demon thinking..._"Blah"_-Memory speaking(they don't think)

* * *

Leaves of Steel, Chapter 12

* * *

Konoha: 9:38 AM

* * *

Naruto walked back to his house with his Albino teacher, staying silent as they walked.

Every time Naruto started to start discussion, Elric quieted him with a, "This is not the place to talk of such things Naruto, people are listening." and continued on.

As they reached Naruto's house, the boy pulled out his house key, and unlocked the door.

When they were inside Elric sealed the door and surrounding environment with one of the best spells he knew. To do this, he let loose a single drop of blood, and brought it to his lips, where he drew a seal upon them, and opened his mouth to the direction of the door, and many more times as he rotated around.

"Naruto, lay the sword on the table, do not touch it!" Elric commanded in a cold tone.

The blonde-haired boy consented, and opened the case, shaking the massive blade onto the table's surface. The blade clattered upon the mahogany table, and rocked until it was straight. Elric examined the rune-sword, noting well the familiar feeling of its aura. He brought his hands slowly to the hilt, before swiftly drawing them back, after remembering the blade's effect upon him.

"Naruto," began the mighty sorcerer, "Do you feel stronger when you touch the blade, and weaker when it leaves your grasp?" he asked to ascertain the new qualities of the god-sword.

Naruto shook his head, to which Elric sighed in relief, that is, until Naruto added, "I don't feel weaker when it leaves me, only stronger when I'm touching it."

Elric gasped at the thought of the boy being unlike him in this sense, before reminding Naruto, "You must learn never to use the sword as a crutch, or it will have power over you. Naruto, you need to train yourself as well, so you don't become weaker than it."

Naruto nodded, "Understood, Elric. Are we going to go and train now?" the boy asked.

Elric gave Naruto a thumbs-up, as well as unsealing the room they were in. The pair left, after Naruto placed Stormbringer back into the case.

* * *

Konoha's Training outskirts: 9:55AM

* * *

Naruto stopped in his tracks, halted by the barbed-wire fence. He was left speechless as his teacher stopped with a smile on his face at the limits of the forbidden training ground.

"Akagahara..." the boy said slowly, remembering the stories he had heard of this place.

"Yes, I will have you complete a mission here. This is where many Genin became Chunin, including Kakashi. Your mission is to make this place safe again for the training of Academy students. To accomplish this, you must locate and destroy every trap in this vicinity. You may do this by any mean s necessary, and if you succeed, I will teach you the magic of my people." the Albino said with a playful gleam in his eyes.

"Elric, Isn't this mission a bit too much? I mean, Genin back then only had to get though it, not remove all of the traps and stuff." The boy questioned of the Mage.

Elric thought out the best way to answer the boy's question, "Yes, yes it is. But don't you want to prove yourself stronger than the other Genin, and stronger than a Chunin? You DO want to become Hokage, right?"

"YATTA! I'LL DO IT!" shouted the genin as he jumped over the fence.

* * *

Konoha-Akagahara: 9:55AM

* * *

As Naruto's feet felt the ground underneath him give way, it was too late to react. Naruto's body plummeted into a spike pit, and was pierced by 43 bamboo stakes, still sharp. He was lying at the bottom of the pit, the spikes holding him captive.

Naruto felt no pain from the fall,and simply rose up off of the spikes, his wounds closing. three of the spikes had been crushed by his sword's case. The boy extended his legs, and simply walked out of the pit.

"Elric! How am I supposed to destroy the traps?" the boy called out, brushing off bamboo splinters.

"That is for you to figure out, I'll be reading. Try not to die." Elric said, vaguely reminiscent of the Kyubi.

Naruto crushed and shredded the spikes with a hovering saw, before slowly moving forward, creating Metal clones to help him.

* * *

Outside of Akagahara: 10:05AM

* * *

Gai walked up to the sitting man, attempting to be stealthy in his bright green jumpsuit. His team slowly followed him, Trying to sneak up on the ruby-eyed wanderer.

"Gai, I know you are there, you may as well come on out. The same goes for you genin. No use sneaking up on me." said the conjurer, closing his book with a bang.

The noble green and azure beasts of Konoha jumped out with a simultaneous cry of, "Dynamic Entry!!!" only to have their bodies suspended in mid-air with seemingly nothing holding onto them.

Elric's eyes shimmered blue, as he lowered the two Taijutsu masters to the ground. Tenten and Neji stepped out from the bushes, and each performed quick bow. They attempted to pick up their sensei, but he jumped up.

"Ah! Elric-sempai! It is good to see the spirit of youth burns in you as hot as ever! Where is your youthful apprentice?" The man with the huge eyebrows asked.

"He is over in the forbidden training grounds, most likely falling victim to the vicious traps that he has to remove. He'll be okay though, why do you ask?" The Albino responded in a bored tone.

Tenten immediately leaped over the fence to help Naruto, without saying a word. Lee began sparing with his shadow, and Neji used his Byakugan to sneak a peek at Elric's book, blushing.

Gai sat down on a stone opposite from Elric, and began to vividly describe to him everything he had been doing for the time Elric had been gone.

* * *

Akagahara: 10:10AM

* * *

Tenten threw a kunai, blocking a rust-red one spewed by a trap, ricocheting off and effectively blocking all of the others, nailing all of them to a tree before they could hit Naruto.

"Thank you, Tenten! Those rusty Kunai are really hard to find, they blend in so well with the landscape." The blonde said with a grin on his face.

Tenten answered in a sweet smile, "You're welcome, Naruto-kun. Would you like some help with these?"

Naruto paused at her calling him Naruto-kun, but shrugged it off, "Sure, Tenten, I'd rather not play pincushion, eh? The goal is to locate and destroy every trap in this area, so it can be re-used as an academy training ground."

Tenten joined Naruto in his search, not letting a single Kunai or other trap hit Naruto.

'I have to be sure not to reveal my abilities to Tenten, they have to remain a secret..." The boy thought, carefully using concealed methods to disable and deflect traps, while remaining ever the more wary, so as not to let her see any of his metallic powers.

As the duo went through the field, clearing and removing any obstacles they found in their way, they were suddenly assaulted by massive puppets, for Naruto had knocked down a large stone statue on accident.

"Naruto! Watch out!" cried Tenten as she swept over him, beheading a shaggy puppet with a katana she had pulled from a scroll.

Naruto followed suit, and spun over Tenten's back withdrawing Stormbringer from the massive metal case. The large sword was swung one-handed, shattering 4 marionettes in one cleave. Falling into Zabuza's stolen poses, Naruto efficiently began tearing through the forces.

Tenten looked over her shoulder, in what seemed to be slow motion, to espy Naruto launching perfect attacks, one after another, with what appeared to be a giant sword made of metal.

'Naruto-kun, what is that magnificent weapon you are wielding? I can't even see its shape!' the girl thought, throwing several kunai into the foreheads of the puppets, sending them to the ground.

Stormbringer was being swung in massive arches, cutting through each foe in a single strike, as the puppets kept rising. Naruto ran at lightning speed to Tenten, before sheathing his sword, and scooping her off of the ground.

"RUSHING METAL: BURNING WINDS!" shouted the boy, as he fired a massive blast of flaming shrapnel into the defenseless dolls, tearing them to pieces.

The earth finally gave way to a doll of massive proportions, its glowing red eyes the size of tables. The beast gave a shudder, and raised its right arm to the duo, sending numerous blades in their direction.

Tenten couldn't easily move her arms, as they were clamped in the grip of Naruto's left arm, so she couldn't block the weapons.

Naruto remembered he had Tenten in his arm, so he folded his right arm around her, and quietly said, "**Phase**"

Tenten felt her body melt into shadow, and found the blades spinning through them, but not touching them. The world was as a negative, and only Naruto's eyes stayed their original color, piercing the shadows with their glow. From the distance she was at, Naruto looked like a near-perfect replica of Yondaime's statue, face terse, and eyes focused.

Once the blades had passed, and the pair fell to the ground, Naruto placed Tenten off to the side, and drew his sword again. He rushed up to the marionette, and, as soon as his feet hit the side of the dolls massive legs, the world turned once again to the normal plane.

Naruto ran up the side of the beast, and swung over the top, gaining over 20 vertical feet of air, and re-postioning himself at the back, where he raised a glowing red Stormbringer above his head, and dropped it down with the cry of, "VULPINE CLEAVE!"

The fissure Naruto caused in the structure of the puppet was followed by the weight of his full force upon the sword, driving the blade straight through the puppet, cutting it like a hot knife through butter. When Naruto's sword slipped out from between the legs of the puppet, he fell to the ground, and left a massive crater which shook the marionette apart.

Tenten ran up to the steaming crater as the two halves of the puppet fell to the left and right, its eyes turning a dull brown.

As the girl ran into the crater, She saw Naruto sheath the massive sword again, and close the lid. She grabbed onto him as he fell to the ground exhausted.

* * *

Outside of Akagahara: 12:45PM

* * *

Tenten returned, carrying a dozing Naruto on her back, too worn out to walk on his own. Elric stood up, and took the boy from her, and laid him down on the ground, while placing glowing hands upon him. The boy soon regained consciousness, and looked at his surroundings.

"Neji, could I trouble you to check the forbidden ground for any remaining traps, and report to me how many are left?" asked Elric, as he nodded a silent, 'thank you' to Tenten.

Neji ran off into the field, and returned quickly, "No traps are left in Akagahara, but the area is heavily damaged, with puppet bodies surrounding a massive destroyed puppet, likely decimated by a large weapon. Nothing further to report." and he sat down.

Gai-esnei eyed the container on Naruto' back, and looked towards His female student, who nodded in affirmation.

Gai then reached towards the case, to investigate the contents when his hand was slapped away by Naruto, "Gai-sensei, I would appreciate it if you didn't attempt to wield my blade, as it is not meant for your hands."

The boy swung the case around his back again, and walked off. Lee and Neji wandered off, while Tenten ran after Naruto. Gai stayed with Elric, and was soon rewarded with the answer.

"Yes Gai, it is that sword. It would be best not to pester him about it, I'm sure he is already having trouble dealing with it. Let Tenten try to connect with him, she is, after all, his own age, so he would be more likely to open up to her about it." Elric pointed out.

* * *

Hokage's Monument: 1:15PM

* * *

Naruto was sitting on the Fourth's head, watching the noisy city below, when Tenten came to his side, and sat down with him.

"It's okay Naruto-kun, Gai-sensei was just checking it out...May I see it again?" Tenten asked hopefully at the chance of seeing such a cool weapon again.

Naruto nodded, and withdrew the blade from its case. He set it on his lap, but kept both hands over it.

"Tenten, you must not touch the edge nor the handle of the blade. If you do...well, let's not think about that." Naruto warned, before raising his hands off of the blade, and setting it on the stone.

Tenten examined the gleaming sword from many angles, sensing the dark aura that surrounded it. She asked Naruto to turn it over, so she could see the other side, and took up a study of that side as well.

"Naruto-kun...amazing...The blade is so straight, and the edges, even though you tore through those puppets, is not marred at all. Is this sword new? I haven't heard of a blade this size except the swords of the seven swordsmen of the mist." Tenten praised.

Naruto flipped the sword back into his hands, "This sword is a demon-blade, It stole the form of Momochi Zabuza's Zanbato, and altered it after I killed him. That is the truth."

Tenten's mouth gaped open, as she stared at the sword, "YOU killed Momochi Zabuza?" she asked wide-eyed.

Naruto nodded, and pulled out a new edition of the Bingo book, flipping it open to Zabuza's page, where it read, 'Killed along with his apprentice; Haku, by Uzumaki, Naruto, Konoha Ninja, age 12. Zabuza's sword is currently owned by Uzumaki.'

Tenten touched the cold flat of the blade, feeling the sword pulse, causing her to pull her hand back. Naruto sheathed the sword again, and closed the lid.

Tenten smiled, "That is a really cool sword Naruto-kun, does it handle well? It is pretty massive after all, right?"

Naruto stood up, and drew his sword. He spun it is circles, and threw it, tip first, into the bark of a tree, where it split the tree and continued into the rock behind it. Naruto picked the sword up again, pulling it from the rock, and returned it to the sheath.

"Tenten, would you like to go get Ramen with me?" Naruto asked for no real reason.

Tenten jumped up, "Sure."

* * *

End of Leaves of Steel, Chapter 12

* * *

Finally, I begin to incorporate romance, took me long enough...

If you flame, I flame you with more fire.

-Johnhamsta


	13. Chapter 13

Alright! 13th Chapter!

* * *

136 reviews, 29,000+ hits 

Alright then, nothing much to say...except...YAY SNOW!

* * *

Disclaimer! I don't own Naruto, Elric, nor anything else I use...I do own all of my little quirks I put in my stories, as well as my DNA...ON WITH THE SHOW! 

"Blah"-person speaking...'Blah'-person thinking...**"Blah"**-Demon speaking...**'Blah'**-Demon thinking..._"Blah"_-Memory speaking(they don't think)

* * *

Leaves of Steel, Chapter 13

* * *

Ichiraku Ramen Bar: 2:05 PM

* * *

Scooping up the noodley contents of his 6th bowl of Ramen, Naruto sucked it in like a wood chipper, causing Tenten to stare for the 6th time. The girl was only on her 1st bowl, guarding it from the ravenous Naruto.

"Naruto-kun? Do you always eat like this?" Tenten asked cautiously.

Naruto drained the broth and set the bowl down before answering with a long speech, "I always eat like this, Tenten. I've eaten here for as long as I can remember, and find it is the best way to squeeze in meals between training. In fact, it sometimes caused the old man to forget I even ordered, so my bill goes down."

Teuchi, the Ramen Bar's owner, spun around with an happy look in his eye, "Naruto...It actually causes me to OVER-estimate the ramen you've eaten, so I charge you MORE."

Naruto flinched and put his hand behind his head, rubbing furiously, "Oohh...so THAT's why Gama-chan gets so flat..."

Tenten giggled, and went back to eating her ramen at an increased pace.

After finishing her bowl, Tenten placed her chopsticks down and folded her hands, letting out a sigh. Naruto eyed he warily, and her eyes met his. Naruto made a head gesture towards her ramen bowl, as his mouth was full at the moment.

"Yes, Naruto-kun, I'm done." she responded, briefly thinking before asking, "Would you like to train with me after this?"

Naruto finished his 7th bowl, "Sure thing, Tenten!" Naruto exclaimed, while wiping the excess broth away with the back of his hand.

The boy pulled out Gama-chan, his wallet, and withdrew the memorized sum for 9 bowls of ramen. Handing the bills to Teuchi, and waving good-bye to Ayame, Teuchi's daughter, Naruto and Tenten left for the Training fields.

* * *

Training Ground 16: 2:43PM

* * *

A wave of kunai hit Naruto's torso, before the Shadow clone disappeared. Tenten looked around for the Blond-headed boy, setting up traps in the trees as she went. Naruto was trailing her silently, disarming the traps as he followed her. As he reached for a kunai on a wire, a fist connected with his face, sending him reeling backwards.

"Naruto-kun, you need to learn to identify a simply bunshin." sighed Tenten, as the boy hit the ground, vanishing into a puff of smoke.

"Same goes for you, Tenten." taunted Naruto, who was holding a Kunai to her throat, after sneaking up behind her.

Tenten twirled out of Naruto's reach, firing a wave of shuriken, "Shuriken Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" the bun-headed kunochi shouted, her hands still in the seal.

Naruto stared at the wall of blades with a determined resolve as he raised his right hand.

Tenten briefly switched seals, calling out, "Shrapnel Shuriken!", watching the resulting cloud of dust where Naruto met the Shuriken.

The shrapnel came headed back Tenten's way as Naruto shouted, "Rushing Metal: Burning Winds!"

Tenten blocked the shrapnel with a high powered spin of her Bo staff, and then launched the staff at Naruto, quickly attaching a blade to the end.

Off in the trees, a set of Metal NAruto clones completed their hand-seals, and flew back into Naruto's back, unobserved by the girl. Naruto felt the world slow down, and he grabbed the now slow-moving staff out of the air, launching it back with an exploding note hidden just behind the head.

Tenten saw this, and striped the note off at high speeds with a shuriken, catching the spear and placing it back into her scroll. She then continued a high-speed run at Naruto, who side-stepped and then tripped her, causing her to barrel down a hill.

Naruto jumped into the air, and took a metal maul out of his robe, swinging it down at Tenten, who switched with a log before the maul connected.

'Damn, he's good with weapons!' thought the brown-eyed kunochi, before pulling and swinging a katana from her scroll.

'A katana, I have to be careful around weapons that can go into my body, or she might notice...' the boy mused to himself, before twirling his steel-threaded robe around the sword, slinging Tenten and her weapon into the direction of a tree.

Tenten spun and landed on the side of the tree, rebounding towards Naruto while drawing a second sword from her other scroll. Attempting a scissor-slash at the boy, Tenten met only the resistance of air, before Naruto grabbed the blades out of her hands from his bent-backwards position. As Tenten came on a return flight, the blond spun the blades in a windmill, then slashed horizontally with both blades, narrowly missing her.

The girl pulled out a fuuma shuriken, and launched that at Naruto. Naruto switched with the shuriken itself as it left her hands, pinning Tenten by her arms to a tree behind her. Tenten shifted her right foot, springing a trap that fired a single senbon at Naruto's leg.

Forced to let go of her, the boy felt the swords leave his hands, and himself being pinned to a tree in the same manner he had used against Tenten. Unable to do anything without endangering his secret, Naruto sighed and hung his head to his adversary.

Tenten's hand continued to pin Naruto to the tree, where Tenten could examine the boy she had just beaten. His hair was damp with perspiration, and sweat collected like tears on his face. The boy was breathing heavily when he raised his head to his captor.

Her hair had come undone and framed her face, slightly dripping with moisture. She was breathing heavily upon him, smiling as she held his arms to the tree. Her brown eyes locked upon his blue eyes, and the awkward silence continued for another half a minute.

Tenten still held him down, "You should have been in our graduating class, Naruto-kun. Then I could have sparred with you every day!" she commented about two inches from his face, "You certainly have amazing skills in weapons."

Naruto blushed at both the laudation and the distance, before responding, "What I want to know is what you did with the Shuriken to multiply them, as well as how you knew to set up a trap at the other tree." The boy asked earnestly.

Tenten kept herself at the same distance from Naruto, "The multiplication of the shuriken is called 'Shuriken Kage Bunshin no jutsu', and I wired the tree as I rebounded off of it." she said, her hands remaining where they were.

"Can you teach me the Shuriken Kage Bunshin no jutsu?" asked Naruto.

"Can you get out?" asked Tenten with a smile.

Naruto smirked, but didn't respond or escape.

"If you can't get out, then I'm going to do whatever I feel like doing with you." warned Tenten, as she watched Naruto struggle in fear.

'She can't injure me, so I might as well let her do what she-' Naruto's thoughts were interrupted by Tenten taking his lips in a kiss.

Struggling for a while, Naruto's eyes soon fell shut as he was lost in the kiss. His muscles loosened, and his mouth was left defenseless.

'...' Naruto was left breathless as Tenten released the kiss, jumping away into the trees, a blush evident on both faces.

The boy slumped down into a sitting position, eyes not leaving the area of trees Tenten flew into. His stomach was fluttering, and his legs were wobbly. He raised a finger to his lips, still feeling moisture.

* * *

Sunagakure: 3:11PM

* * *

Kurenai, Kiba, Shino, and Hinata were at an oasis, sitting in the shade, for Hinata said she wasn't feeling well. While they were sitting Hinata's eyes widened in shock, and her team members switched their attention to her.

"Hinata?" asked Kurenai, "Are you okay?"

"I feel as if something very...odd has happened, but it seems to be over." responded the girl in a very dark tone, without stuttering.

* * *

Naruto's Mindscape

* * *

**'HAHAHA! Why is it that souls always taste sweeter when I take them from love? I look forward to making you kill her, Naruto.'** Stormbringer thought to himself.

* * *

End of Leaves of Steel, Chapter 13

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OH SNAP! It's a short chapter! Deal with it!

If you flame or spam, I send Hinata after you...I'll tell her you hit Naruto.

-Johnhamsta


	14. Chapter 14

Alright! 14th Chapter!

* * *

140 reviews, 32,000 hits 

IMPORTANT! Here is a new rule for you all: I WILL NOT make a new chapter unless my review count is 10X the number of the next chapter. For example: I needed at least 140 reviews until I was going to write this chapter. NO SPAMMING to artificially increase the amount of reviews. You don't have to be a member of FF to review, so go ahead and review!

* * *

Disclaimer! I don't own Naruto, Elric, nor anything else I may use. I do own a Nintendo Wii though...ON WITH THE SHOW! 

"Blah"-person speaking...'Blah'-person thinking...**"Blah"**-Demon speaking...**'Blah'**-Demon thinking..."Blah"-Memory speaking(they don't think)...**_'Blah'_**-Mythical Creature speaking through mental pathways.

* * *

Leaves of Steel, Chapter 14

* * *

Naruto's Apartment: 4:00PM

* * *

Naruto was lying on his bed, letting the meaningful event that happened during the day replay in his head. He felt his lips tingle, and a feeling of warmth spread throughout his body. Deciding to work it off in his dreams, Naruto slipped into slumber-land.

* * *

Naruto's Dreamscape

* * *

**"Hey, retard!"** rudely interjected Stormbringer, **"You forgot to take the orbs, so you don't have full power over them."** the dark claws spun the orbs on a digit each, before throwing them at Naruto.

The boy quickly caught them, and they sunk into his skin, the eye on his stomach opening and closing.

"Yo, Stormbringer, I thought you said you were going to teach me how to use you!" the boy said fiercely.

**"That's the spirit, Naruto. I've decided to allow all of the memories you get from new kills flow right on into you, so no worries about new kills. However, you still have yet to free all of the skills of Ibiki and yourself. Get to it."** and with that, Naruto felt himself pushed out of the tower, doors closing and bolting in front of him.

'Right then, I'll just go out and...Shit!" Naruto saw that the cranial Castle was under heavy fire by the massive siege.

Naruto tapped his seal, switching from the eye to the curved triangle, and focusing chakra to the gauntlets. Glimmering white metal began to overtake the grey, and soon Naruto was covered with a plate armor, smooth and rounded. In the center of it was the curved triangle, and in the background, the Uzumaki spiral.

Forging a sword and shield from his arms, The boy soon lay grip upon a gleaming long-sword, with an angel-wing cross-guard, centering on a imprinted spiral. The shield was a different matter; silver-bordered, and a simple blue filling it in. In the center of this was a minute silver heart.

Now focusing chakra to his back, Naruto felt two feathered wings sprout from the metal. Testing the strength of his New wings, Naruto ran down the hill of the tower, and off of a small cliff.

The boy soon found himself soaring in the air, the wings leaving behind a white trail of energy. Naruto flew towards the battlefield, as silent as the night. Soon he was circling overhead of a large catapult, manned by a small troll. The boy descended upon the troll, who soon found itself headless. Somehow, the troll had let off a scream, and judging by the massive amounts of enemies who now surrounded Naruto, he had picked a good place to land.

The blond flew at a nearby cluster of enemies, and put as much strength behind the blow as he could, cutting the figments in half easily with the shimmering blade. He felt a barrage of metal tipped instruments approach, so he enlarged the shield and stood under it. Running at one of the walls of his entrapment, Naruto took to the air at increased speeds, hacking away at the figments with great disdain.

Soon the boy saw a massive figure emerge from the crowd of undead. The second dragon Naruto had met was staring him dead in the eyes. Naruto waited for the sky-blue dragon's attack. It never came. Instead, the dragon spewed fire at the nearby zombies, setting them aflame.

"Why do you help me?" questioned Naruto of the dragon.

Seemingly in response, The dragon brought its head down in a deep bow to the warrior's chest, resting at the curved triangle. Naruto touched its muzzle with his hand, and the he felt as if the beast was speaking to him.

**_'Pyron,'_** he felt, **_'my name is Pyron. I ask to serve under you. In exchange, I wish for you to summon me into the real world.'_**

"I accept, Pyron." Naruto said with pride, "How am I to do this?"

**_'I assume you know how to perform a summon?'_** Pyron communicated emphatically.

"Yes, I've seen it done before." Naruto stated.

**_'All you must do to summon me is to press your right thumb against the seal to which I respond. You won't need to use any blood, as I know you don't have any. You may need to use the thing you know as "chakra", and when you summon me, All I want is real food, such as beef, or something like that. I can eat almost anything, but refrain from eating humans unless you allow me to.'_** Pyron stated.

The enemies had been staring at the spectacle, of what they had previously believed to be a blue rock, speaking to their opponent.

"Alright, Pyron. Shall we fight these monsters in the here and now?" Asked the genin.

**_'Indubitably'_** stated the dragon, as they tore through the ranks of undead in a hail of fire and the shimmer of steel.

Naruto jumped high up into the air, making the seal for burning hands while producing hundreds of metal vines from his arms, "Flame's Tongues!" he shouted unleashing a flurry of red-hot strikes through the spines of hundreds of their enemies.

Slowly, the dragon brought its hands together into a clasped seal, 'Pyron know Ninjutsu?' wondered Naruto.

A ice-colored chakra flowed around the glimmering dragon, **_'Lightning Strike!'_** In an instant, a massive lightning bolt connected the "ground" to the "sky" as the plasma claimed an area the size of the Chunin exam's stadium.

Naruto couldn't help but be surprised at his new companions power, so he decided to go all out as well, "Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" and with this, he spread out over the entirety of the field, each clone touching one of the enemies, "**Rend!**"

The foes shattered into dust, and Naruto un-summoned the clones. Sprinting towards Pyron, the boy was blocked by a massive beast rising from the ground, completely covered in Black Metal.

Naruto heard the voice of Stormbringer, **"So, Naruto, you managed to find the Dragon who I Absorbed over a millennia ago. Let's see how you fair against the colossus I stole from its post."**

The child could tell that the monstrosity used to be bronze, but he had no time to appreciate the work its creator put into it as the brute swung a short-sword the size of a train engine at the boy.

Naruto raised his hand to stop the blade, forcing it away with his mastery over metal. He then sprouted wings, and took off the same time as his new summon.

**_'Naruto-sama,' _** thought the dragon, using honorifics for his new master, **_'If we were to launch consecutive hot and cold attacks, we could weaken it enough for you to steal the Black Metal. I'll take care of the cold attacks.'_**

Naruto nodded his consent, and formed an incredibly large hand, setting it aflame with the burning hands seal. He targeted the joints of the colossus, and used the Blurred Hands to deliver consecutive strikes to the brute.

Once Naruto was done, and the enemy fazed, Pyron opened his mouth for an Icy Blast, **_'Mountain's Roar!'_**

Repeating this sequence, even the colossus was soon brought to his knees, and Naruto delivered the final strike with his open palm, "Evil Sealing Method: Soul Seal!" the patten grew on the chest armor of the large warrior, and it was shattered slowly.

Watching it vanish, Naruto saw a smile of happiness upon its lips, as if it was thanking him. The Black metal flew into the tower, so both Naruto and Pyron took to the sky.

**_'Naruto-sama,'_** asked Pyron, **_'Why are you aiding the sword, don't you know it is evil?'_**

Naruto smiled, "I'm not worried in the slightest, I have Stormbringer under my command, not the other way around. IT is aiding ME."

Landing inside the tower, Naruto stepped in, Pyron was forced to wait because of his size. The boy saw that yet another dark hand had sprouted out of the ground.

**"Good job, Naruto. You only have one piece left of me to find, so , for the meanwhile, I shall grant to you the last gift, 'Call'. This will allow you to bring back those that you slay into their bodies, forcing them to serve you. They will retain their memories, but only until they are cut down again. Anything you ask of them will be done. This returns them to life,with a heartbeat and everything, but you can end it at a whim. I hope you enjoy the strongest healing that is Necromancy."** Stormbringer spoke, before extending the claw until the orb touched Naruto.

"Isn't this a bit too much?" asked the boy.

**"I will not allow my captor to be weak, for if you ever die, I will be lost forever. I really hate sealing."** with that, the voice vanished.

Naruto stepped back outside, to which Pyron asked, **_'Necromancy, huh? _**

Suddenly, Naruto noticed a large number of energy balls floating towards him. They entered into his body, and things just began to come back to him:

_"Memory of Basic Ninja Training"_

_"Memory of stuff I heard Iruka talking about while I was sleeping in class"_

Naruto was a little embarrassed about what he was relearning.

_"Memory of Konoha Clans"_

_"Memory of the exact way Teuchi makes Ramen"_

More and more of these kinds of memories were flowing into him. Finally, He noticed some of Ibiki's.

_"How to extract information without bruising or scarring"_

_"How to intimidate a large room of Genin"_

_"Answers for the Chunin Selection Exam that I prepared."_

Naruto paid special attention to that last one.

_"How to make Anko Mitarashi cry"_

_"How to dress well"_

_"100 ways to Manipulate the un-expecting"_

_"What Kakashi-kun looks like under his mask"_

Naruto was surprised by that one, and found Kakashi to be pretty good looking for a pervert.

_"Keypad combo to my underground bunker that even the Hokage doesn't know about."_

Naruto memorized the numbers, because his apartment sucks. Then several useless ones ended the sequence.

Finally, Pyron nudged Naruto, **_'Don't forget to summon me when you wake up, Naruto-sama. Do you have any meat in your house?'_**

Naruto nodded his head, and the Dreamscape began to fade out.

* * *

The Roof of Naruto's Apartment: 6:30AM

* * *

Many people in the Hyuuga Clan wondered where Hinata went early in the morning, but they never had the guts to ask her as she went, for she carried a deadly look in her eyes to anyone who got in her way at those times. Even her father was afraid of that look.

In all truths, she went on top of Naruto's Apartment to her observation booth, which she rented the roof space from the Manager.

'Naruto-kun looks so peaceful when he sleeps...' thought the Pale-eyed girl, who was watching Naruto through a system of spy cameras she had set up while Naruto was in Wave country.

Hinata heard a knock on her observation post's door. She went to answer it, after pressing a button which disguised all of her spy gear as furniture.

Elric stood in front of the girl with a smile on his face, "Good morning Hinata-san, I was wondering who had rented this room on top of the apartment. May I come in?"

"U-umm...s-sure, E-elric-san..." Hinata stuttered, inviting the Albino in.

"Hinata, I have a question for you." began Elric.

'Oh no! does he know of my spying on Naruto-kun?" thought the girl.

"What do you know of Kurenai Yuhi?" asked Elric rather unexpectedly.

Hinata sweat-dropped, and told Elric of her teacher and mentor. Eventually, he left, none the wiser to Hinata's "operation".

* * *

Naruto's Apartment: 7:00AM

* * *

Naruto woke up and answered the door that had just been knocked at, after forming his clothes.

"Good morning, Elric." the boy said with a yawn.

"Naruto, I have a question for you. Would you like to participate in the Chunin Exams?" the pale man questioned of the boy.

"HELL YEAH!" Naruto said loudly, "Oh, and Elric, I have someone who you might like to meet."

"Ok, who is it?" asked the albino, hands propping up his chin.

Naruto was going to press on the curved triangle seal, when Elric stopped him suddenly.

"Naruto! Why do you have the seal I gave to the Yondaime?" He demanded.

"I found it in my Dreamscape. What's so special?" The boy inquired.

'I sealed that thing into Yondaime's genetics, so the only reason Naruto could have it would be...I'll keep that hush-hush for now...' pondered Elric, before saying, "Never mind, Naruto, just show me what you are going to do."

Naruto pressed his thumb against the seal, careful to only release a small amount of chakra. A puff of smoke was hanging in the air, hiding a creature the size of a horse.

'Good thing I didn't use too much chakra, or I wouldn't have a house anymore.' thought the boy, before revealing a sky-blue dragon.

Elric's eyes lit up, "BY THE IMMORTALS! A DRAGON!" he ran up to the powerful beast.

Pyron was startled for a moment, before looking at his confronter, **_'Greetings, Melnibonian, It has been a long while since I cast eyes upon one of you. May I ask your name?'_** the dragon asked politely.

"Of course, My name is Elric, 428th direct descendant of the original sorcerer-kings of Melnibonia. What is your name, mighty dragon?"

**_'My name is Pyron, and I now serve Naruto-sama.'_** the dragon stated.

Elric shook Naruto's hand vigorously, "Naruto, you have a Melnibonian dragon under your command, I congratulate you, but I must be leaving. I have business that must be addressed immediatly. Here is your registration card, as you are an individual Ninja, you will be working with Kakashi's team seven during the second test. go meet up with them, bye!" Elric ran out into the street, skipping, as he had seen a dragon for the first time in over 10 years.

"Pyron, can you change sizes?" asked Naruto curiously.

**_'Of course, Naruto-sama. Which size do you want me to take?'_** asked Pyron in response.

"It would be less intimidating if you were to take on the size of a small dog. We can't have people running in terror from you, can we?" pointed out Naruto.

Pyron shrunk down to the size of a poodle, and was quite adorable. He was now in chibi proportions.

**_'Is this better, Naruto-sama?'_** questioned the dragon.

"Much." stated Naruto, "Let's go to a place where we can get a lot of meat. Luckily, I was paid for my high-ranking mission, so I can afford it."

The pair went off to Asuma's team's favorite spot, the barbecue. Leaving Hinata in her fantasies, as she was currently enjoying a nosebleed, courtesy of Naruto in a Dragon costume.

* * *

Korean Barbecue: 7:45AM

* * *

Naruto sat down, and took Pyron out of his backpack, **_'It was stuffy in there, Naruto-sama. Next time, just let me walk beside you. I'm sure people will respect you when you have a dragon walking by you. They'll probably bee in awe of you.'_**

"Sure thing, Pyron. I'll order us a lot of meat." Naruto said as an apology, as he ordered many plates of beef, lamb, fish, chicken, and pork.

Suddenly, Asuma and his team sat next to Naruto, unaware of the Dragon on his head.

"Yo, Naruto." said Shikamaru, before looking captivated by Naruto's head-warmer.

"Hey Naruto," began Choji, "How are you...whoa."

"Hello Naruto, Would you happen to Know where...S-sas-sasu..." Ino too was star-struck.

"Naruto, I think my team wants to know why you have...a..." Asuma was blank too.

Naruto answered, "Why I have a dragon? His name is Pyron, and he is well-behaved." Naruto picked Pyron off his head, and held him in his arms.

**_'Greetings, it is nice to meet you all. what are your names?'_** asked Pyron, raising a arm to his mouth in a rather cute fashion.

Ino squealed, "SOOOO CCUUUTE!" and hugged Pyron.

"That girl is Ino, and this guy is Choji. I'm Shikamaru, and this is our teacher, Asuma-sensei." Shikamaru answered, pointing out each person in turn.

Everyone greeted Pyron, and added their orders, "I'll pay for this meal, Naruto-kun. It is not every day that a dragon eats with us." Asuma said.

The waiter brought the first dishes, and threw them on the grill. Both Choji and Pyron eyed the first piece of meat as it cooked.

The moment it finished cooking, both choji and Pyron leaped for it. Pyron brought his hands together, and made an ice wall in front of Choji, stealing the first piece of meat. Choji was pissed, but figured that it wasn't the best Idea to steal food from a dragon.

* * *

8 plates and half of Asuma's wallet later

* * *

Pyron finally laid down, stomach full. He had to change to the size of a German Shepherd to keep from bursting.

"Naruto-kun," began Ino, "Would you happen to know why Tenten is acting odd as of late? She didn't go shopping with me yesterday afternoon."

Naruto blushed, "Umm...no...I don't know..."

"Either way," Ino stated, "She is looking for you. Maybe you can get her to go shopping with me?"

Naruto blushed again, drawing a look of confusion from Ino, "Umm...okay...I'll go do that...bye!" Naruto shouted, taking Pyron running with him.

'Hmm...' thought Ino, 'Both Naruto AND Tenten are blushing and acting odd...what could thi-...are they an item? Gossip time!" Yamanaka Ino ran off to talk to Sakura.

* * *

Tenten's House: 2nd Floor: 9:20AM

* * *

Tenten was sitting on her bed, contemplating what she had done yesterday. She was nervously twirling a kunai in between her fingers when the rotation suddenly stopped. The kunai flew out of her grip, and imbedded itself into a picture of her team, narrowly missing Lee's head.

"Whoops." she said aloud, "I was about to give Lee a close shave."

**_'Oh! That's his name!'_** Tenten turned around quickly to see a small blue dragon sitting on her bed, **_'If you ask me, his eyebrows could use a trim. May I suggest a lawnmower?'_** this comment cause Tenten to giggle, and she crouched down to look the Dragon in the eyes.

"Who are you, little Dragon? My name is Tenten. Why are you in my room?' she asked.

**_'My name is Pyron. I know you are Tenten, because I was told I would find you here. I have a message for you, would you like to hear it?'_** Pyron was standing on his back legs, and was looking very cute, as he had stored the food he just ate as chakra, so he was down to chibi-size.

"Umm...sure. Who is it from?" Tenten asked.

_**'It is a message from my master. He would like to talk to you at training ground **_

**_16. Is this okay with you?'_** asked Pyron.

"Who is your master?" Tenten asked nervously, not really wanting to return to training ground 16.

**_'My master is Naruto-sama. Will you come?' _**Pyron asked again.

Tenten was shocked, but she nodded, "How will we get there? It is one and a half miles away, after all."

_**'Have you ever flown before?'**_wondered the small dragon.

"You are much too small to carry me, Pyron." Tenten said, before seeing Pyron jump out of the window.

Tenten ran up to the window to see Pyron shift into a dragon the size of a elephant, **_'Am I big enough to carry you now, Tenten-san?' _** asked the large dragon.

Tenten nodded, and hopped out of her window, on to Pyron's back. Pyron told her to hold on, and flew off.

* * *

Training Ground 16: 9:30AM

* * *

Tenten dismounted off of Pyron, still dizzy from the loops she asked him to do, "Thank you, Pyron. Where is Naruto-kun?" she asked.

Pyron raised a hand above his eyes, and looked around. Eventually, he turned around, **_"I don't know."_**

Tenten sweat-dropped, and began to walk towards a bench. While walking, she noticed a rope-trap on the ground. she jumped over it and landed. Landed. Right. In. A. Second. Rope-trap.

Tenten was now upside down, and as such, noticed an arrow in the grass, pointing down the hill. She cut herself loose, and dropped to the ground, where she carefully made her way to the arrow. She followed its direction, and walked a straight line, narrowly avoiding hidden traps along the way.

'Naruto-kun, are you trying to re-create yesterday?' she wondered, blushing. What she failed to notice was that Pyron gave a signal from behind her.

* * *

Major fluff alert! If you don't read ahead, then you are no fun. (Don't worry, It is not my place to be writing lemons)

* * *

A blur sped in front of Tenten, not giving her nearly enough time to react as it pinned her to an all-too-familiar tree. She recognized the top of Naruto's head, as he was looking at the ground as he pinned her.

"Naruto-kun! Umm...can you tell me what you are doing?" Tenten was blushing as she remembered yesterday.

"Can you get out?" asked Naruto with a smile as he tilted his head upwards.

Tenten blushed furiously as her own line was used against her, "Naruto-kun, do you want an explanation for yesterday?"

Naruto moved his head so he was looking right into her eyes. She saw him blushing, highlighting his bright blue eyes.

"Tenten-chan, I neither want nor need an explanation. However..." Naruto was staring into her shining hazel eyes.

Tenten was caught up in the moment, and wanted him to finish what he was saying.

"However...If you can't get out, then I'm going to do whatever I feel like doing with you." warned Naruto.

Tenten didn't bother to struggle, as she was thinking, 'Naruto-kun...Are yo-' Tenten's thoughts were interrupted by Naruto taking her willing lips in a kiss.

Tenten expected him to do exactly as she had done, but at the same time didn't want him to.

Naruto kept the kiss going, his head tilted to the right. He let go of Tenten's arms to see what would happen.

Tenten's arms stood by her side, before rising up around Naruto's head, cradling his cheeks as she pulled him in.

Naruto's left hand ran up Tenten's back, his right cradled her head. Eventually, both teens broke the kiss, both were gasping for breath, and both were blushing. Naruto looked into Tenten's eyes, Tenten into his.

Naruto began, "Tenten-cha-" He was interrupted by Tenten pinning him to the ground.

Tenten was propping herself above his head with her arms, "Shut up and kiss me Naruto-kun!" her hands went to his cheeks again, thumbs tracing his whisker-marks.

Pyron was confused what his master was doing, but saw that he was happy. After sitting there for a couple minuted staring at the two, Pyron left to go hunting in the forest.

* * *

End of Leaves of Steel, Chapter 14

* * *

Heh, as fluffy as my hamster.

I don't know why anyone would flame this chapter, but feel free to meet the **150****Total** reviews before I update again.

-Johnhamsta


	15. Chapter 15

Alright! 15th Chapter!

* * *

156 reviews, 36,000+ hits 

Yeah...Sorry for being a whiny bitch last chapter. I'm not holding my story hostage anymore. In exchange, I give you Kakashi- U\ . I also want to say that The Rogue Stallion has my express permission to use Pyron. YAY!

* * *

Disclaimer! I don't own Naruto, Elric, or other people's property. I do, however, own any original characters I might create, and give them out like candy. This does not mean you can just take my candy. Ask for it instead...ON WITH THE SHOW! 

"Blah"-person speaking...'Blah'-person thinking...**"Blah"**-Demon speaking...**'Blah'**-Demon thinking..._"Blah"_-Memory speaking(they don't think)...**_'Blah'_**-Pyron speaking through mental pathways.

* * *

Leaves of Steel, Chapter 15

* * *

Training Ground 16: 9:30PM (dudes, read the last recorded time, then draw your own conclusions)

* * *

Tenten got off of Naruto, and brushed off her clothing, "Umm, Naruto-kun? Are you alright?" she asked the fazed boy. 

"Most definitely." the blond genin said, attempting to get up after his limbs had fallen numb, "Tenten, I think we've been kissing for too long, I can't feel my extremities."

Tenten giggled, and pulled Naruto up, "It DOES look that way, doesn't it?"

Naruto was pulled to his feet, but fell down again, "Just give me a minute."

Pyron trotted in, dragging a gigantic centipede behind him. He stared at the two kids, their hair in disarray. Tenten's buns had come undone long ago, and Naruto's hair looked to be separated by individual strands. Both were flushed, and looking at each other passionately.

"Tenten-chan, will you be my...this?" Naruto asked, to embarrassed to say girlfriend, so he raised a pinky.

Tenten blushed furiously, then ran up to Naruto, pressing her lips again against his, "Of course, Naruto-kun!" she then made her exit through the trees.

The boy slumped against the tree, drawing out a metal spike, and writing, "Tenten" into the tree, with a heart around it.

Pyron held up his centipede to the boy, **_'Want some?'_**

"Nah, thanks, I'm good." Naruto said, putting his hands in his pockets, walking away.

Pyron increased his size to full, ate the centipede in one bite, then quickly ran after Naruto in his chibi form, "Naruto-sama, hold up!"

* * *

Hyuuga Estate: 10:07PM

* * *

"Is Hinata-sama alright, Hanabi-sama?" inquired Neji of the little sister of heiress. 

"Well, she appears to be distressed over something only she can sense. Here's an idea: Why don't you ask her yourself?" Hanabi said rudely, walking off with a flip of her hand.

'What a jerk...' thought Neji, before knocking on Hinata's door, "Hinata-sama, you should go to sleep, the Chunin Exams start tomorrow."

Suddenly, the door flew open, almost shattering, causing a large rip in the paper. Neji could feel a massive killing intent emanate from the girl as she looked at the floor. The girl looked up, her byakugan already active. She stared into Neji's eyes, causing him to back up, and fall to the ground.

"Neji..." Hinata said in a dark tone, "I order you to help me see the tenketsu. I WILL have my vengeance."

"Hinata-sama, I can help, but why do you want the sudden cha-" Neji was interrupted by Hinata lifting him up by the collar and pressing him against a tree.

"You will not question my actions! I can already see a few of the points, but I need to see more! I will destroy her!" Hinata yelled, causing several members of the clan look out their windows to see the prodigy being yelled at by the shy heiress.

"W-who do you want v-vengeance against, H-hinata-sama? Does it have something to do with Naruto?" stuttered Neji, as he found it hard to breath with Hinata pressing his airways shut with a tree.

"You know her well, the girl on your team. I saw her...KISSING MY NARUTO-KUN!" Hinata screamed, chakra roaring out of her body.

"T-tenten? K-kissing Naruto?" Neji asked in unbelieving.

"YES! SHE STOLE MY NARUTO-KUN!" shouted Hinata, before letting the chakra dissapate to say in a dark voice, "I have no time for this, teach me now!" and with that, she threw Neji to the ground.

* * *

Naruto's Apartment: 10:07PM

* * *

Naruto was lying on his bed smiling and playing with Pyron. He was holding a steak on steel wire, to play cat and mouse with the dragon. 

**_'STEAK!'_** thought Pyron, jumping off of the furniture.

The door opened, and Elric stepped in to witness Naruto acting like a fisherman. The albino sighed, and sat down on a stool.

"Naruto," he began, "I have learned that you and that Tenten girl are...an item?"

The blond nodded while blushing. he let the string go, and soon Pyron had the steak in his hands, gnawing on the juicy meat.

"Be careful, Stormbringer has a tendency to steal the ones you love." Elric stated from experience, "Are you ready for the Chunin Exams tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I'll meet up with team seven at the bridge." The blond remembered.

"Fine, but I want to teach you some runes before you go to sleep." Elric said, pulling out a tome from his pack.

He laid it open with a thud, and flipped to the front. Pictured was the same rune he had cast on Naruto before he went to Wave.

"This is a fireball rune, good for one fireball. These runes are easily created, but I have to teach you how to use magic before you can use it." Elric stated, pulling out a wooden block.

The albino grabbed Naruto's hands, and placed them on the sides. Naruto felt a pull on his chakra system. The pull got stronger, before Naruto was in extreme pain. After a minute of yelling, Naruto fell off the bed, his hands leaving the block, which Elric put away.

"I just forcibly changed your chakra to access magic. Now we start." Elric stated, lifting Naruto from the ground.

Naruto got back onto the bed, his chakra system repairing almost instantly, 'Being metal has its benefits' he thought, before asking, "How do I use Magic?"

"Just channel your chakra, you'll notice the difference." Elric stated, shifting in his chair.

Naruto brought energy to his hands, which shot out a bright white glow.

"Draw the symbol while you continue to channel chakra. Then, drag the image onto whatever you want, close your hand when you are done. When it is hit, the fireball will launch at the direction it was hit from. The closer your hand is, the more powerful the rune will be, the further away your hand is, the weaker. Touch the object or person for maximum power." Elric instructed.

Naruto drew the symbol, and saw it appear in his vision, on top of anything he was pointing at. He pulled his hand back as far as he could, and saw the image grow faint. Placing it on a pencil, Naruto closed his hand and the image disappeared.

"I put it on the pencil. How can I get it off?" Naruto asked, as he might want to use that pencil.

"You can get it off by placing a nullifying rune on top," Elric said, indicating an X-shaped rune in the book, "or it will go away in one day."

Naruto tried the nullifying rune with great success, "Are there other runes for me to learn? I want to learn a healing rune, in case someone gets hurt." he asked.

Elric passed the tome to Naruto, "Feel free to read the runes, but don't touch them, runes drawn in blood last until they are destroyed. The only reason the runes don't all go off when you close the book is that the paper is made of pure magic. The further you go in the book the more powerful the runes become."

"Do you know all of these, Elric?" Naruto asked, wondering how strong he was.

"Of course I know all of them! These are all the runes I know!" Elric laughed, before stating, "These are all of the runes IN EXISTENCE, including the ones Ninja use."

Naruto squealed like a giddy school-girl, before opening the book and practicing the symbols. Elric left to boy to his studies, and silently cast a energy rune on him.

* * *

Konoha's Central bridge: 7:45AM

* * *

Naruto and Pyron walked up to Sasuke and Sakura, waving hello, "Hey guys! Are you ready for the exams?" he asked, yawning, for he had stayed up studying the book the entire time. 

"IDIOT!" screamed Sakura, bonking him on the head, "WHY ARE YOU TIRED? WE WON'T PASS WITH YOU ALL TIRED LIKE THAT! Aww...what a cute dragon! DID YOU STEAL HIM OR SOMETHING? What is your name little guy?"

Naruto rubbed the area, and even though he didn't feel any pain, he lied, "Ouch! I'm sorry!"

Pyron jumped up and smacked Sakura on the head, **_'Don't hit my master! My name is Pyron!'_**

Suddenly, Kakashi jumped down from the top of the bridge, "Now that you all are here, go to Academy room 313. That is where the first test is. I'm glad you all came!" Kakashi vanished in a puff of smoke.

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura were walking to the academy, when Sakura asked Naruto, "So...You and Tenten, huh?" with a coy smile on her lips.

Naruto blushed, but Sakura kept the attack going, "Ino happened upon you two in the forest. She says you were kissing on the ground. She was there for a while, but you two didn't stop."

"Well...I'm her boyfriend now..." Naruto said slowly, to which Sakura squealed.

"Naruto! I knew you weren't a complete loser!" Sakura said triumphantly.

Sasuke smirked, "Good job, idiot."

"Sasuke-kun! Will you go out with me now?" Sakura asked with stars in her eyes.

"No." Sasuke said plainly.

* * *

Konoha Academy: 7:54AM

* * *

The group entered, and went up only to the second floor, where a massive cluster were standing in front of two kids, guarding a door that said '313' where all of the other doors had '2XX' on them. Naruto and his group paled at the sheer amount of people that had fallen for it. 

Lee walked up to the door, only to be hit away by one of the kids guarding it, "You shouldn't bother trying to go in! You'll fail and never be allowed to become a Chunin!" the kid said.

Tenten walked up to retrieve Lee, and Naruto saw the kid who had just hit Lee prepare another strike.

In an instant, Naruto was between the two, gripping the kid's hand. He threw the boy over the heads of the crowd, through the window. He then delivered an incredibly strong punch to the other one's stomach.

"Don't you dare lay a hand on her!" Naruto yelled at the kid doubled over in pain on the ground, "Tell your friend to think before hitting people!"

Tenten helped Lee, who didn't seem to have any damage on him off of the ground, "Thank you Naruto-kun!" she said coyly, before kissing him deeply.

After breaking the kiss, Tenten led both teams upstairs to the real room, "The only reason we were there is because Lee can't figure out genjutsu. Neji and I saw through it easily." finishing her statement, Tenten grabbed Naruto's hand, and pushed the door open.

The room was full of hopeful Genin, all staring at the newcomers, Hinata especially.

'THERE SHE IS! Is she..holding my Naruto-kun's hand!? I'LL KILL HER!' Hinata thought, visible hatred in her eyes.

'I hope Tenten can fend for herself against Hinata-sama...I can't even warn Tenten, or Hinata-sama will use the caged bird seal on me!' Neji thought, sweating at the sight of Hinata, who had really done a number on him the last night, refusing him sleep until she mastered the tenketsu, 'Also, Hinata-sama can see the Tenketsu! I fear for Tenten's life...'

"Sit down ingrates!" shouted a man in the front, "My name is Morino Idate, and I will be your examiner today! Take a card and sit the hell down!"

Naruto paled, 'This man is related to Ibiki! I'll have to talk to him.' he thought, before taking a card, number 28.

Naruto sat down right next to Hinata, who blushed. Pyron climbed onto his head, copying Akamaru, who jumped onto Kiba's.

'Pyron,' called Naruto in his mind, 'can you hear me?'

**_'Yes, Naruto-sama, I can hear you loud and clear'_** responded the sky-blue dragon, **_'What do you wish for me to do?'_**

'I know all of the answers to the test, I want you to communicate them to Sasuke, Sakura, Tenten, and her team.' ordered Naruto.

Pyron nodded, and Idate began to speak, "The rules are simple; Answer the 9 questions to the best of your ability. If you are caught cheating by either me or the proctors, you will lose 2 points. If, at any time, you run out of points, you and your team will fail. The tenth question will be given at the end of the test. NO TALKING!" he shouted, "You may start now."

Naruto wrote down the memorized answers within minutes, and communicated them to Pyron. The dragon then informed the others, also telling Lee and Neji who he was. Because of the way he did it, none of the proctors found out.

Hinata used her Byakugan to peek at Naruto's hastily written answers, and after checking them ,found them to all be correct, 'Naruto-kun, how did you know all of these? I thought you slept during class!' It doesn't matter, I will proceed to the final stage, and take Tenten-teme out!' the pale-eyed girl thought in an angry tone.

Naruto fell asleep, and woke up when Idate shouted, "Time's up bitches! Tenth question time! I will now explain the rules of the tenth question! If you don't want to take the tenth question, you and your team fail! If you choose to take it and get it wrong, not only do you fail, but you and your team can never become Chunin!" having said this, Idate smirked as many kids held up their hands and submitted to his icy rein.

'Pyron, make sure to tell the group I told you of not to quit, this is just another of the tests! If you accept, you automatically pass!' Naruto ordered Pyron in his mind.

Pyron nodded in affirmation, and relayed the instruction to Naruto and Tenten's teams, **_'They all understand. YAY!'_** the dragon yelled happily.

Many teams left, but Kakashi's team, along with Kurenai's, Gai's, and Asuma's all stayed in.

"All of you that are left! You all pass! It takes a real Chunin to accept any mission, no matter the consequences. Good job!" Idate congratulated the remaining ninja.

With a crash, a ball of fabric flew through the window, and a large banner was unfurled behind a purple-haired woman. The banner read: Anko Mitarashi, 2nd examiner.

"Follow me to the second area!" Anko shouted, and jumped out of the window.

Everyone followed, except for Naruto who walked up to Idate, "Are you Ibiki-sensei's brother?"

"Yeah, did you know him, kid?" Idate asked the blond-haired boy.

"He was my instructor, I miss him..." Naruto said sadly.

"Not as much as I do, kid. What is your name?" the man asked the genin as he was jumping out of the window.

"The name is Uzumaki Naruto! Bye!" and with that, Naruto left to join the group.

* * *

Konoha: Outside of the forest of Death: 9:00AM

* * *

Anko stood, briefing the genin on their test, "You have 5 days to get to the tower in the middle with both the Heaven and Earth scrolls. You may collect as many as you want, but they won't get you bonus points. You may not look at the contents of the scrolls until you have reached the inside of the tower. Each team is assigned a scroll and a gate. You may use any methods to capture other team's scrolls." Anko yelled. 

"What about killing the other contestants?" asked a red-haired boy with a massive gourd strapped to his back.

Anko smiled, "That is what these slips are for. They state that Konoha is not responsible for your lives while participating in the second exam. Killing is allowed, but you must understand that you are ending the life of another." Anko stated sadly, before handing out the papers for the children to sign.

**_'Master, may I eat the other contestants?'_** asked Pyron.

'Only if they are not Konoha shinobi, and you have retrieved their scrolls." Naruto relented, a spark of cruelty showing.

Pyron nodded, and danced around, **_'I get to eat people! YAY!'_** he shouted into the minds of anyone who was listening, which was everyone.

Tenten walked up to Naruto, and wrapped her arms around him, "Naruto-kun, stay safe for me." she said into his ear, before kissing him, "I want this kiss back at the end of this." She then left with her team towards the booth, paper of consent in her hand.

Naruto reached towards her while she walked away, "Tenten-chan, I want to give you something!" at this, Tenten turned around.

Naruto channeled chakra to his hands, and drew a shinning shield symbol, casting it on Tenten. He followed it with multiple damage-healing runes, and 4 second-level elemental attacks. Finally, he pulled the tome from his backpack, flipping towards the back of the book.

"Naruto-kun, what are you doing?" Tenten asked the boy as he studied one of the runes.

"I'm protecting my girlfriend, that's what. Hold still, I have to make these runes Elric taught me last the full 5 days." Naruto informed her, drawing an hour-glass rune, and casting it over the others.

Naruto casted the rune 3 more times, "There we go, All of the runes on you should last 5 days now." he stated, closing the tome slowly.

"Which runes did you place on me Naruto-kun?" Tenten asked curiously.

"The shield rune protects you from any genjutsu, the cross runes will heal you when you get hurt, and the others will launch powerful random elemental attacks in the direction you are hit from, every time you are hit. The elements I placed on you were fire, water, earth and air. Be careful, Tenten-chan." Naruto finished, embracing Tenten in a prolonged hug.

Tenten nodded, and ran off to join her group. Naruto watched lovingly as she left, unaware of the cold stare she was given.

'I will get you during the finals, so everyone will see that I am meant for Naruto-kun, not you! SWINE!' Hinata yelled in her mind.

* * *

Gate number 42: 9:30AM

* * *

Naruto stood with Sakura and Sasuke at the gate, staring into the forest. Their lock exploded like the ones they saw in the distance. 

'Let's do this!' thought Naruto.

'Stay safe, Naruto-kun!' thought Tenten.

'I'll take you out, Tenten!' Hinata yelled in her mind.

'Mother wants all of your blood!' roared the red-haired boy subconsciously.

**_'I GET TO EAT HUMANS! HELL YEAH!' _**Pyron thought happily.

* * *

Naruto's Mindscape

* * *

**"It is time to KILL!"** yelled Stormbringer, as shadowed forces began to drill under the Cerebral castle, nearing the surface slowly.

* * *

End of Leaves of Steel, Chapter 15

* * *

I'm sorry again for being a story pimp. YAY CLIFFHANGER! 

-Johnhamsta


	16. Chapter 16

Alright! 16th Chapter!

* * *

172 reviews, 41,000+ hits

_**'I GET TO EAT HUMANS! HELL YEAH!'**_

* * *

Disclaimer! I don't own Naruto, nor do I own Elric, but I do have custody over original characters, and disperse them like blood in water...ON WITH THE SHOW!

"Blah"-person speaking...'Blah'-person thinking...**"Blah"**-Demon speaking...**'Blah'**-Demon thinking..._"Blah"_-Memory speaking(they don't think)...**_'Blah'_**-Pyron speaking through mental pathways.

* * *

Leaves of Steel, Chapter 16

* * *

Training ground 44, 42nd gate to the forest of death: 9:33 AM

* * *

Team 7 had been running for only 3 minutes after the gates opened. Slipping their way through the foliage. Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and Pyron silently neared a location pinpointed earlier by the blond of their team to have, "Someone waiting".

**_'Master, why are we attacking some weaklings? Even I can sense how weak they are!'_** the adorable sky-blue dragon asked.

'We just need the scrolls, so we might as well take them.' Naruto thought out to his loyal dragon, before he added in a bonus to cheer him up, 'Plus, after I...take care of them, you can eat them.'

**_'YAY!'_** shouted the sleek dragon into Naruto's head.

* * *

With the weaklings: 9:37 AM

* * *

Hidden mist had sent many teams, but their best was their 'Heavy Melee' team. This particular team was comprised of 'Big Dudes', the 'Biggest Dudes' in their entire village. Led by a masked man named Yonshu (6'7") 'Team 8 Mark 3' was huge. Yonshu was especially noted for being the grandson of one of the seven swordsmen, carrying his gandfather's legacy. The Zanbato this boy carried was around 6 feet in length, and a dull red.

"Yo! Yonshu!" called one of his subordinates, "Has your blade gotten redder?"

Yonshu blushed, before he presented his blade to his favorite team member, a 6'8" young adult by the name of Kai, "Why, yes it has!" Yonshu said gleefully, "I added a fresh coat of blood this morning!"

"Who was the 'paint'? Did they set quickly?" asked his other team mate, a 7 foot tall man, known only as Shin.

"The crop was good, I encountered a rich traveler, probably a merchant, on the road this morning. His blood was SO thick I had to use a blood thinning pill, or I would have been late." Their captain declared.

Suddenly, said blade shimmered, and Yonshu perked his blindfolded head upwards, "We have...unusual company. One of them is carrying one of the other 6 blades." their captain stated, and Team 8 Mark 3 prepared traps in their general vicinity.

Bursting through the bushes, a group of 3 genin and a small...dog landed.

"Hey! You with the dog! Get out of the way! We're waiting for someone!" shouted Yonshu.

Kiba snorted and laughed, "Do you think we are just going to WAIT for your scroll?" he asked.

"No, but you can be second in line. There is a man I must fight! Please wait until I kill him, then you can be next." Yonshu requested.

Another group of Genin bursted into the clearing, this time with a reptilian creature.

'NARUTO-KUN!' thought Hinata, blushing furiously.

'Sasuke-kun!' thought Shino, hiding his blush in his useful coat.

'Arf! Pyron-sama! Arf!' thought Akamaru.

'Sakura-chan!' thought Sakura sadly, seeing nobody was looking at HER in joy.

"Hey guys. I see you are not dead, that is good." Naruto said rather plainly, eying the odd blushing girl.

"Yo." Sasuke waved.

**_'What's up, Homie? Piss on any good trees?'_** Pyron answered his canine buddy.

Team 8 Mark 3 wasted no time in drawing their weapons, "So, you with the blond hair! I want a one-on-one!" shouted Yonshu.

Naruto stepped forward, eying the sword Yonshu carried, "Fine." Naruto stated, as he KNEW when he was being called out.

Flipping the cap on his back, Naruto drew his massive sword, 'Is that...Momochi Zabuza's sword? It looks different from when I saw it last...Has it...been reforged?' wondered the holder of the other blade.

The two sword-wielders jumped to the side, with Naruto thinking to Pyron, 'You assist Sakura with the one that attacks her. Sasuke can take care of himself.'.

Shin flew at Sasuke, a large...rock...on a stick...held high, "Let's go!"

Kai took out a massive mace, and began to swing it in a massive arc. He targeted Sakura, and brought it down. Pyron jumped at her, pushing both of them out of the way. The heavy piece of steel crushed the ground, leaving a crater the size of a horse.

Sakura hid behind a rock, leaving Pyron all by his lonesome, **_'She IS useless! i'll just do this by myself!'_** the cute dragon thought to himself, before growing to his small-house size.

'Holy Shit!' thought Kai, as he ducked a blast of ice, 'This could get difficult...'

Sasuke jumped over the huge maul, and fired a thin stream of fire into the face of Shin. He then stabbed a kunai deep into the the huge person, twisting it upon entry. He then stole the weapons belt of the giant, kicking him in the 'nads while he did it.

Shin roared, and brought his hands into a seal, temporarily dropping his hammer. Sasuke's eyes grew their tomoe, and the sharingan was active.

"Suiton: Rolling Waves!" Shin shouted, ripping water out of the ground, while Sasuke made a few quick seals exchanging himself with a log.

Sasuke smirked from the trees, as he jumped down behind the slow ninja, stabbing him in the spinal cord, cutting downwards. Shin's spine fell out, and the massive genin fell to the ground, gurgling until he fell silent.

"God, he was fucking annoying! At least I got a jutsu off of him..." Sasuke muttered to himself, before sitting down on a nearby stump, and began to brood.

Pyron slammed a massive claw into Kai, sending him flying into a tree, which was shortly covered in ice, **_'oooo...a Human popcicle...'_**

Naruto held his sword behind him, the tip on the ground, while his enemy charged at him, jumping off of a tree to gain a height advantage. Yonshu brought his sword down on the blond Genin, who brought his own sword up so quickly, only a blur was visible.

"I've had better fights, you know." Naruto stated, as he yawned.

Naruto held his sword at his side, and rushed towards his opponent. Slipping past his defenses by alternating his physical structure, Naruto chopped the unsuspecting sword-user in twain.

"AGGGHHH!" screamed the dying man, as Naruto stabbed him through the torso...or what remained of it.

Yonshu's blood flowed freely, and a life left his face. Naruto waited for his heart to stop, and then placed a healing seal on the body. The torso reconnected to the legs, leaving no scar as the tissue reformed. Blood went back into the boy's systems, but he was not alive.

Naruto raised his sword, and pointed it at his fallen opponent, "**Call!**" He shouted, as a glowing green aura touched the boy's corpse.

A spooky hand reached out, and extended into the sky, ripping down a glowing orb. The orb came back into the body, and Yonshu jerked as he began to breathe.

Naruto stood over him, and pulled him up by the collar, throwing him against a tree.

"Hey! What is your name?" Naruto asked in an angry tone.

Yonshu tried to attack the boy, but found his body wouldn't move, "You can't attack me, as I resurrected you to serve." Naruto stated, holding his sword at his new servant's neck, "I ask you AGAIN! What is your name?"

"M-my name is Y-Yonshu..." the boy said, testing his body for any problems.

"'My name is Yonshu, WHAT?!" shouted Naruto, reminding the boy of his new rank.

"My name is Yonshu, m-master..." the new addition said sadly, as he figured out what the green glow was.

"Good." Naruto stated as he put away his sword, "You WILL come with me, and you WILL assist whenever I ask. Your past does not matter anymore, nor do I care. Your job is to give up everything for my safety, and do whatever I ask. If I ask you to jump off of a tree, what will you do?"

Yonshu figured the best way to exist in this situation was to treat it like a high-ranking mission, "I will jump." He stated.

"Good, you understand." Naruto cackled, "Welcome to the realm of the undead. As long as you serve me, you feel no pain, and you do not die. You do not eat, you do not drink. You survive as long as I find you useful. If I tell you to kill your Kage, what do you do?" The blond asked, testing the new recruit's loyalty.

"I rip my father's head off." Yonshu stated, bringing up a raised eyebrow in Naruto.

"Your father is the Mizukage? You ARE useful." Naruto stated, "As of now, **I** am your leader, you answer ONLY to me, unless I allow otherwise. Scroll, please."

Yonshu reached into his pocket, presenting Naruto with the scroll, 'Ah, perfect! It is the Heaven Scroll, that completes the set.' Naruto thought, leading his new servant back to the group.

Hinata stared at her crush being followed by the enemy, 'Why is the enemy cooperating?' she wondered.

Yonshu stared at the image of his dead 7-foot tall former team mate. He then switched his attention to what looked like a hand sticking out of the mouth of the (now back in chibi form) dragon. He recognized the ring on the hand, before it was spat onto the ground.

_**'I don't like eating rings...'**_Pyron commented to the whole group.

"This is Yonshu, everyone. He is my new vassal, and will be joining us." Naruto stated, pointing his thumb at the boy with the massive sword.

"Dobe. Why are you fraternizing with the enemy? That is treason." Sasuke pointed out.

"It isn't treason if the 'enemy' is deceased. He happens to be undead as of 3 minutes ago. And who are you calling 'dobe', Sasuke-teme?" Naruto counter-pointed.

**_'Does this mean I don't get to eat him?'_** Pyron asked sadly, chewing on a thigh-bone.

Naruto nodded, and left the area with his team, whispering to them about the scroll. Yonshu was amazed that he still retained his speed and chakra after being killed. Naruto then placed a seal on Yonshu, resembling an antenna.

"What was that, Naruto-sama?" Yonshu asked curiously.

"It allows me to call and locate you at any time. Furthermore, I can now see what you see if I want to. I probably won't use this feature, but it never hurts to be careful." Naruto explained, reading from the tome of seals.

Sakura eyed the buff new addition to their team, 'I wonder if he would make a good boyfriend, he sure is ho-...Wait a second, I LIKE SASUKE!'

Suddenly, a gust of wind hit the Genin team, launching them all into a clearing.

"Fufufufu..." laughed a rain ninja, "It looks like I found you, Sasuke-kun..."

Sasuke paled, "Who the hell are you?" the avenger asked.

"That does not need to be answered, but, I have a gift for you, Sasuke-kun." the man said, his eyes slit like a snake's.

He walked up to Sasuke and quickly gave him a bite on the neck, "When you want more power, come and find me." The odd man stated, before bringing his hands into a teleportaion seal, "The name is Orochimaru." and, with that, he vanished.

Sasuke screamed in pain as the area where he had been bitten throbbed. Naruto thumbed to the reference section of the book, and found the three tomoe seal in the back.

"It is a curse seal, I have to close it before it kills him!" Naruto shouted to the team, signaling for Yonshu to restrain the thrashing boy.

Knowing that the seal could not be removed, Naruto opted for a double-layered seal, so he flipped to the back of the sealing section, "I need a sample of his blood and a Dragon Scale. Pyron, I need a scale! Sakura get me some of Sasuke's blood! Yonshu, I need you to keep him from touching the seal for as long as possible!" as he was barking out orders, he made a steel bowl and rubbing stick underneath his robes, pulling them out.

Pyron tugged a loose scale from his arm, channeling chakra to replace it. Sakura opened a bandage on Sasuke from an earlier scratch, and collected blood in a vial. Yonshu easily restrained the boy, grappling his arms to his side. Naruto took the scale and blood, grinding the scale, and mixing the blood into it to produce a glowing blue paste. The blond Genin approached his team mate, and drew a familiar symbol with the total of the solution. After the curved triangle set in Naruto's hands glowed, as he shouted, "Evil Sealing Method: Light Seal!"

Sasuke fainted, and the seal sunk in in a blue tint.

"The seal was a success, He should be okay." Naruto sighed as he slumped against a tree.

**_'Yay! Good job Naruto-sama!'_** Pyron cheered.

Sakura cradled Sasuke's head, rocking him as she petted his hair. Yonshu just sat against a rock rubbing where Sasuke had bit him on his right bicep. It didn't hurt, and Naruto walked up to him.

"Figuring it out? You feel no pain, but it will still annoy you. I'll heal you though.' Naruto said, as he ran his glowing hands over his servant.

The wound closed, and the blond ordered Yonshu to carry the teme to the tower as they continued.

* * *

2 miles from the tower: 12:42PM

* * *

Reaching around 2 miles to the tower, Sakura noticed that they were caught in a genjutsu, so the Team was forced to stop.

"Yo!" called Naruto, "Whoever is doing this, stop! If you want a scroll, come out and fight!"

Answered only by the rustling of leaves, Naruto pointed Pyron to the bushes.

**_'Found them. They think loudly.'_** the dragon stated, launching a stream of ice at the location of the mental activity.

3 boys, in what appeared to be straightjackets, jumped into the clearing, holding up a heaven scroll, "Which on do you have?" the apparent leader asked.

Naruto pulled out a fake earth scroll from his robe, made of metal, "What a coincidence! Let's go!" before launching several pre-made kunai from his sleeve.

The leader and one of his subordinates dodged, while the other was not as lucky. he was run through the head.

'Not him! We needed him for our illusion!' thought the leader.

The blond walked slowly to the corpse, "**Call!**" he said harshly, and saw the body quiver.

The previously-deceased boy sat up, and tried to attack Naruto, but found himself unable too.

"Kill them." ordered Naruto, pointing at the undead's Team mates.

"NO!" shouted the boy, "I won't kill my frie-" he was cut off by Naruto's open palm striking his chest.

"**Control!**" the Genin of sun-kissed hair called, as the eyes of the boy he had hit grew dull, "Kill them." he stated again.

The zombiefied boy raised his hands into seals, launching all manners of offensive deadly jutsu. He kept firing past his limit, as the undead feel no pain. Leaving a wake of smoke at the point of fire, the controlled body slumped to the ground, all life in his body ebbing away.

His team was much worse off, as they were both dead. The only surface of their bodies NOT covered in needles were the fingertips.

'So...When the Resurrected runs out of chakra the body itself dies...I'll make sure to remember this' thought the necromancer, before kicking the boy's body, 'Useless piece of shit! Can't even stay alive long enough to tell me the location of the scroll. I'll just Phase to where I can see his spirit, and force the fucking information out of him!'

Naruto removed walked around the bodies, removing the senbon from the corpses, placing them into a pocket in his robe.

"**Phase.**" Naruto stated, entering the ethereal realm.

_"You!" _yelled a floating ball of light, _"You killed me! You killed my team!"_ the ball shouted.

Naruto tapped his seal, materializing the god of the void as a gaping hole, "If you don't want me to feed you to the void," he started, grabbing the spirit by its core, "then you will tell me where your scroll is!"

The spirit took on the form of its previous body, as Naruto squeezed the orb, _"I'll tell you! Don't throw me in!"_ the boy relented, _"It is in my friend's oxygen container!"_

Naruto smirked, and walked to the edge of the void, "Thank you for the information." he said with a smile.

The ghost looked frightened, _"I thought you weren't going to throw me in!"_ he yelled.

Naruto looked between the void and the spirit it held, before shrugging and throwing him in, "I lied." he chirped, with an even bigger smile.

The blond Genin phased back into existence, and cut open the oxygen tank of one of the deceased enemies. Ripping out an earth scroll with a hiss, Naruto turned around to find nearly all of the members of his team staring at him in disbelief. Even Sasuke, who had been unconscious, was awake to stare at the carnage.

"Heh. Good job Dobe." Sasuke commented, before pulling himself off of Yonshu, "Wait...ISN'T THIS THE GUY WHO TRIED TO KILL YOU!?" Sasuke yelled at Naruto, clearly indicating Yonshu.

"He's with us now, Sasuke-teme. I suggest you get to know him. His name is Yonshu, and he answers only to me." Naruto stated, while Yonshu had his head bowed, "Yonshu, please greet Sasuke." the necromancer ordered.

"Yes Naruto-sama." Yonshu addressed his master before turning to Sasuke, "Hello. My name is Yonshu."

Sasuke paled at the thought of the dead-last having a servant, before shaking hands with the massive Genin, "Uchiha Sasuke. It is...nice...to meet you." he forced out.

After Pyron sealed the bodies into an adorable little knapsack he had obtained, they continued on their path towards the tower. Upon further examination by Naruto, the knapsack proved to be made out of human skin and bone. This caused Yonshu to slightly flinch, Sakura to puke, and Sasuke to wretch in disgust. Naruto, however, merely laughed.

* * *

With Team Gai: 2:47PM

* * *

Team Gai had progressed without a hitch, encountering and eliminating a team form rock, getting lucky on their first shot. They easily got into the tower just after a team from Sand broke the record for the single quickest time in the history of the chunin exams. Tenten had used every single of the elemental seals to their best functions, finding them to be quite effective. Strangely, through the test, Tenten had noticed Neji acting incredibly protective of her, but she waved that off as him wanting to get to the end quickly.

* * *

Outside of the tower: 3:42PM

* * *

When Team seven reached the tower, they were headed off by a boy from konoha, who offered them information for an extra earth scroll. Naruto complied with the boy he learned to be named Kabuto. In exchange, they were shown up-to-date cards on each of the participants, Naruto's only showing his levels BEFORE the incident.

'The loser can't even get his info right! I don't have to worry about him or his team' thought Naruto, handing the earth scroll to Kabuto.

* * *

Inside of the tower: 3:50PM

* * *

Entering the tower and activating their scrolls, Team seven was subject to investigation by Iruka.

"Hold up! Why do you have another member on your team!?" shouted Iruka, "He won't be allowed to continue!"

Naruto stepped in front of Yonshu, "He WILL be allowed to continue, for he belongs to me in the same sense as your kunai belong to you. I control his every action and free will, so he cannot be considered as a human, nor as a ninja." Naruto stated, before noting the disbelieving look in Iruka's eyes, "Would you like proof?" he asked.

Iruka nodded, and Naruto ordered Yonshu to stab himself in the forehead.

"WAIT!" shouted Iruka, but was too late to stop the boy from plunging a kunai into his own skull.

Yonshu removed the blade, as blood spurted out. This continued until the boy had grown pale.

"Yonshu." addressed Naruto, "Prove that you are still alive. Climb the walls with only your chakra."

Yonshu did as requested, without fail or hesitation, to which Naruto commented, "He is little more than a meat puppet. Think of it as what sand's puppeteers are able to do, and things work out."

Iruka nodded, and opened the master doors to the waiting room, "I acknowledge him as a shinobi tool, and accept him accompanying you. please proceed, and please be careful." Iruka warned.

Naruto stepped into the waiting room, accompanied by a drowsy sharingan user, a whiny girl, a flesh-eating dragon, and a very pale boy, who felt no ill effects from the blood-loss.

* * *

End of Leaves of Steel, Chapter 16

* * *

YAY! ZOMBIES! 

-Johnhamsta


	17. Chapter 17

Alright! 17th Chapter!

* * *

182 reviews, 44,000+ hits! 

I haven't been very dilligent, partially because of Finals, partially because I was being a slacker, but that's over with. Thanks for the reviews, now...ON WITH THE SHOW!

* * *

Disclaimer! I don't own Naruto or Elric, but I do decide whether or not I keep them around. I also own stuff I think up, but just ask if you want to use it. The price isn't too high, just your soul... 

"Blah"-person speaking...'Blah'-person thinking...**"Blah"**-Demon speaking...'**Blah'**-Demon thinking..._"Blah"_-Memory speaking(they don't think)...**_'Blah'_**-Pyron speaking through mental pathways.

* * *

Leaves of Steel, Chapter 17

* * *

Naruto's Mindscape

* * *

**"How is the attack on the castle going?" **Stormbringer's voice resonated through the chamber.

_"All is going well, my lord. I am getting the keys to the gate." a small cloaked figure answered._

_**"Good. I want you to place the final shard in the mental repository...for everything to go smashingly. When you let them in, you will be rewarded."** the god spoke to the small figure again._

_"My faith in you is unwavering, master. I will now poison the Yondaime's food, so as to steal the keys. He might be on to me though, so give me a few days. All I ask is for life when you finish with the boy."_ the figure requested, shifting its paws around on the orb.

**"Aye, and you shall have that. Go now."** Stormbringer demanded.

And with that the figure took its paws off of the orb and covered it, before lowering the hood it wore. Long ears sprang out, and the fuzzy face was revealed, slowly turning from a scowl into an adorable smile.

The bunny rubbed his paws together, _"It shall be done."_

* * *

Forest tower: 3:35PM

* * *

As Naruto proceeded into the waiting room, he felt two things; one was being stared at by a kid with a huge gourd, and the other was Tenten's arms wrapped around his neck.

"Naruto-kun!" squealed the girl, caressing his head.

Naruto smiled and turned around to capture Tenten's lips in a kiss, pinning her against the nearest wall while his hands held her wrists in a pinion above her head.

Neji was staring at the two, but decided to look away when he saw everyone else looking the same direction. Garra was staring, thinking if it would be best to kill them together or separately. Sakura was gawking at the pair, while Yonshu smirked at his master's success. Pyron was nibbling on a thigh from his backpack apathetically, while Lee was shouting about the flames of youth. Sasuke was asleep while Temari blushed at the sight of the two love-birds.

Kankuro was working on Karasu secretively, just eyeing the distraction momentarily before returning to work.

The Necromancer pulled away from Tenten, leaving a small bridge of saliva, "Hello Tenten-chan, I take it you are happy to see me?" he asked in an innocent tone, to which the girl nodded and reconnected their mouths.

The door opened yet again to reveal Kabuto and his team entering, giving Naruto's Team a wave, before calmly sitting on one of the couches. before the door closed, an exhausted sound team held it open as they wheezed their way past the group to the medical ward. That team's female member glanced at the two on the wall, before walking away blushing.

Tenten wriggled out of Naruto's grasp and jumped onto the couch with Naruto in tow. She forced him into a sitting position as she curled up next to him, attempting to sleep on his shoulder, but sliding down to his stomach as she dragged him down with her.

Just as this happened, the door slammed open again to reveal team 8, bleeding just a little. Naruto began to draw a mass healing seal, which drew the attention of his pale-eyed stalker.

'N-naru...It's her...I have to...I have to...KILL HER!' Hinata screamed in her mind, as she felt a tingling sensation her wounds.

Kiba and Shino were aware of the wounds healing over by means of a foreign energy, but relaxed when thy saw it was Naruto. Hinata used to have large gash on her right leg, but it vanished near instantly. Tenten smiled at her boyfriend, ruffling his hair for a reward.

Hinata glared and blushed at the same time, before running off, grabbing Neji by the arm.

* * *

Competition arena: 3:43PM

* * *

"Screwdriver." Hinata called out.

"Screwdriver." replied Neji, handing the heiress the piece of metal and plastic.

"Conduit wiring." asked the girl, returning the screwdriver, before seeing Neji looking around furiously, "In the YELLOW box, dimwit."

Neji felt like crying on the inside, but relented the wiring to the girl, "Conduit wiring." he stated.

"Welding torch." Hinata asked hastily.

"Welding torch." Neji said bluntly, before asking, "Should we be doing this to the board? Isn't this cheating?"

"It isn't cheating if you don't try to squeal, Neji." the heiress said, firing up the torch, "All I did was re-arrange the matches, nothing bad."

Neji paled at the power his cousin had in her hands at the moment, "W-who did you pair Naruto against?" he asked, crossing his fingers it would not be him.

"...Sakura." Hinata stated with a smile, "I think we all know who is going to win that match."

Neji smiled a bit, "Who is Tenten against? Also, who's up against that gourd kid?" he asked nervously.

"Tenten is up against Choji, if he gets here, and if he doesn't she's up against Kiba. Garra-san is against Kabuto-san. You, by the way, are going against Shino. I am going against Temari, and will be screwing up her fan. I didn't care about the other matches." Hinata said non-chalantly.

Neji sighed in relief and left the room. Hinata placed the board back in place and went to her room.

* * *

Forest tower: 10:47PM

* * *

During the night, after the Genin had retired to their rooms, Team 10 popped on in, and went to their rooms. Hinata was awake, and smiled that everything was working out.

Naruto was lying on his bed, staring at the celing, unable to sleep, "Yonshu..." he began, to which the swordsman turned, "You smell like a dead person, go outside or something. I can't sleep with you smelling like that." the blond shinobi, pointing towards the door.

Yonshu left to join Pyron outside, and stare up at the stars. Pyron was munching happily on a torso, humming to himself.

"Is that...one of..." the scared boy asked.

Pyron nodded, _**"Yes. Want some?"**_the cute dragon asked.

Yonshu looked around, before noticing the flesh dripping with blood. He stared at it, entranced by the history behind the torso.

He began to forget about his team mate, "...what was the kid's name again..." he wondered, before staring at the flesh again.

Pyron noticed the eyes, **_"To be undead, you have to let go of your humanity. To be undead, you have to realize that Naruto-sama can't heal all of your wounds. To be undead, you have to take your personal safety into your own hands. Try some."_** Pyron urged Yonshu.

Yonshu felt himself grow wild, and he rushed at the meat, tearing it from the dragon's grip. He sank his teeth into the human meat, tearing and swallowing as if his life depended upon it. With each bite he swallowed, the wound on his forehead healed a bit. With each crunch of the bones, he felt his own grow stronger. With each drop of blood that let loose from the chest, he felt his heart beat come back slowly, now that it had blood to pump.

When he finished, not even an organ was left over. Pyron smirked as Yonshu sat next to him, panting.

"Damn. I just ate someone." Yonshu stated, "But I feel so...right..." he added as an after-note.

**_"Undead. I now declare you a real undead. Although I'm not giving you any more of my kills. you'll have to get those for your own." _**Pyron stated, clutching his human-skin pack, **_"You may have noticed that your chakra increased when you ate the person. you absorbed their physical energy and converted it. Furthermore, your chakra system has moved inside of your bones, and, if you want, you could eat yourself for even more power."_**

"But then I'd have no muscle! I'd be useless!" the boy wailed.

**_"Not so. The more chakra you have, the stronger your 'magical muscles' are. These are what you now use, and have no more use for the standard ones, as the magical ones are stronger. I say, Indulge in a little self-cannablism!" _**the dragon chirped.

Yonshu looked hungrily at his arm, and his jaw opened.

* * *

Back where people AREN'T eating themselves: 7:45AM

* * *

Naruto woke up, after another dreamless night, to a warmth on his body. Tenten had snuck into his room at night, and was now draped over him, snuggling his arm.

The girl was mumbling, so Naruto scooted closer, to which she readily grappled on to more of him, "...Naruto-kun..." she mumbled, "You smell like oranges..."

Naruto was only slightly shocked, but then rubbed up against Tenten to wake her, "Tenten-chan..." he started, as he was cut off by her lips.

The girl was still asleep, and giggling softly into his mouth, "mgngmn".

Her eyes opened, and she decided she like the situation, so she stayed there. Eventually she pulled away, and jumped on the bed, shaking him on to the floor.

"Rise and shine, Naruto!" she giggled.

Naruto rubbed his head in mock pain, "At least I'm awake." he noted to himself.

As they were in their respective locations, the door opened to reveal a Leaf Chunin, "I'm Hayate, and you two are in trouble..." he said, ending by wagging his finger.

Naruto reached into his backpack for his book of seals, and thumbed to one with a question-mark seal, which he drew, casting it on the Chunin, who suddenly seemed to forget what had just transpired.

"I'm Hayate," he introduced himself again, "and I'd like to know...where I am..." he asked with a confused look on his face.

Tenten giggled, while Naruto devised a plan, "You were just talking to us, after you asked Tenten to join in the discussion. We were talking about Genma, and what is up with that freakin' Senbon."

Tenten giggled again, and Hayate snickered, "Yeah, it IS pretty stupid..." he commented, before turning to leave, "Oh, come on down to the...fighting...place...where we are all meeting for...the...thing...yeah..." he reminded them in a ditzy manner.

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief, and put the book away. Tenten kissed him again, and dragged him to his feet.

"Let's go, Naruto-kun." she proclaimed, dragging Naruto to the Competition arena.

* * *

Competition arena: 7:55AM

* * *

The Sandaime Hokage stood in front of the crowd, "Attention Genin! Since we are about to start, is there anyone who feels they are going to be unprepared for the third trial should leave now. You may also forfeit a match if you like, AFTER you have been informed of you are to fight. We have too many contenders, so a elimination round will be held, cutting the number of participants in half."

Nobody gave up yet. The Sandaime explained the rules, as he was feeling chipper.

"Try not to kill, and don't attack the spectators!" he shouted, and then retreated to an observation booth.

Hayate stepped forward and pressed a floor tile, causing a large television to come out from the wall. Hinata smirked, and the first two participants were named.

Uzumaki Naruto vs. Haruno Sakura

Sakura was distraught, but ready to wail on Naruto. Naruto showed no emotion, and was really thinking if he should let Pyron eat her.

* * *

End of Leaves of Steel, Chapter 17

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Skeleton time! WHEEE!

-Johnhamsta


	18. Chapter 18

Alright! 18th Chapter!

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195 reviews, 49,000 hits!

* * *

On a funny note: jon s. an anon, believes that the pale man is, in fact, Orochimaru! jon...I can't start to tell you how wrong you are...

...yeah, I know I haven't updated for more than a week, but...well...I don't actually have an excuse...Just deal with it. in response, I got quite a few votes to have Pyron eat Sakura, and only one with a plea NOT to have the lovable dragon feast on her flesh. You know what that means...Well...**I** know what that means, and you all get to find out XD...ON WITH THE SHOW!

* * *

Disclaimer! I am pretty sure that I don't own Naruto, and neither do I own Elric...or at least that is what I am told...I'LL SHOW THEM! I do know I own original characters, and if you want to use them, just ask.

"Blah"-person speaking...'Blah'-person thinking...**"Blah"**-Demon speaking...'**Blah'**-Demon thinking..._"Blah"_-Memory speaking(they don't think)...**_'Blah'_**-Pyron speaking through mental pathways.

* * *

Leaves of Steel, Chapter 18

* * *

Naruto's Mindscape

* * *

Paw-steps could be heard, running away from the great hall in the cerebral castle. Inside of said hall, The Yondaime-Figment was face down on the table, breathing heavily. Clutching his throat, it wasn't long before he fell silent. The hall was empty, and a pool of blood formed at the figment's head.

The rabbit twirled a set of keys on the right paw, the left touching a seemingly random series of stones on the wall. As each was touched from a standing position, they emitted a faint glow. Once the stones finally were glowing in the shape of a door, one appeared. The rabbit pushed the keys into the glowing door's lock, and twisted.

_"All too easy..."_ the small mammal murmured, _"i think my cover story successfully worked. The Yondaime is a fool..."_

The critter pushed the door open and stepped inside. What cam in to view was a giant colored cube, all mixed around.

_"What the fuck!?" _screamed the bunny, _"A fucking Rubik's cube? ...Oh, I get it, the core is inside...This might take a while..."_ and with that the bunny began to spin sections.

* * *

Competition arena: 7:59AM

* * *

Sakura tied on her headband, drawing the ends tight. She drew a handful of kunai, and began to wrap explosive tags around them. Naruto stood still, contemplating his inevitable victory. He motioned for a cloaked figure to approach. Said cloaked figure had a massive blade strapped openly on the back.

"Yonshu...I leave this one to you..." the necromancer said, pushing off the ground to jump behind the undead warrior.

**"Hai, Naruto-sama!"** the undead said, throwing off the cloak to show a gleaming skull.

Yonshu HAD consumed all of his flesh, and he had glowing joints to show for it. Only his eyes remained, swiveling backwards into his skull, so as to freak out the pink-haired excuse for a ninja.

Sakura shuddered, but strung a steel wire through the ends of the kunai. Both parties bowed to each other, Yonshu making sure to freak Sakura out by removing his head as if it were a hat as he did.

"Begin!" shouted the Sandaime, raising a hand.

Sakura started it off, by throwing her chained kunai around the skeleton, kunai looping around the bones, as well as each other. Yonshu stood quietly, waiting to see what would happen.

_**BOOM!**_a blast was heard, shooting up parts of the floor and such, broken kunai flying every which way. After the smoke had cleared, a pile of bones, mixed in with some kunai and broken steel wiring remained. Sakura grinned, and Naruto sighed.

Yonshu's bones began to rattle, and instantly spread out into the shape of a disassembled skeleton. The pink-haired girl was shocked, and then tripped by a rouge humerus bone. Oh, the comedy.

Yonshu snapped back together, brushing the soot off of the gleaming-white calcium and protein deposits, **"Well, that was interesting, wasn't it?"** the skeleton taunted in a dark voice, **"Anything else you would like to show me? Or will I have to actually start fighting?"**

Yonshu was quickly answered by a formation of your standard, run-of-the-mill bunshin. They surrounded him, throwing fake punches, with a real one mixed in every once in a while. When he tried to retaliate, the girl kawamari'ed out, switching with a painful floor tile.

Yonshu punched the rock, shattering the stone into small bits. As the dust cleared, an eerie green glow surrounded his hands, with small black bubbles popping inside of a luminescent sphere around his hands.

**"Demonic Arts: Ectoplasmic orb!"** the post-mortem boy shouted, hurling the dark mass at the girl.

Sakura barely dogged, but the ball scraped her hair, burning a clean hole right through it. After the ball had exited the hole it made, pink hair inside of it began to swirl around rapidly, slowing the ball.

**"Demonic Arts: Material Golem!"** Yonshu called, as the hair spun and grew, morphing into a giant, pink, hairy golem.

Pyron nodded to his new student, **_'Good job, I didn't think you'd get down what I taught you so quickly...'_**

Yonshu's teeth formed into an eerie grin, as the golem rose from the ground, howling. Sakura paled at the concept of fighting her own hair, but quickly dispatched the weak golem with a simple academy katon jutsu.

"Ha! You call that a threat?" The weak genin called out, facing her defeated hair.

The skeleton was irked, so he decided to aggravate the puny mortal even further, **"You call that a hairstyle?"** he said, pointing to the incredibly uneven hair Sakura was now sporting.

Sakura roared with anger as her second personality took over, **"YOU WILL DIE!"** the scary girl screamed, as Yonshu shrugged.

**"Been there, done that, got the T-shirt."** he said drawing his blood-red Zanbato.

He rushed the girl in his kenjutsu (swordsmanship) stance, spinning clockwise to an attempted disabling (read: killing) blow. Sakura caught the blade with as much chakra as she could muster with her anger. She threw the skeleton, along with his blade, into the wall.

**"Fucking bitch..."** Yonshu murmured, prying himself from the wall.

As soon as he got free, Sakura pounded her chakra-charged fist into his skull, subconsciously releasing the energy as she hit. Yonshu's skull was everywhere, and Sakura walked away from the apparently finished skeleton. She heard a clinking sound, and turned to receive a punch to the gut from a headless skeleton.

Naruto smirked, as he channeled energy into the steel pins he had pyron insert into all of the bones. The skeleton roamed past the weakened weak girl, to collect pieces of his skull, which floated above his head as they were found, re-forming.

**"I'll get you for that..."** he stated clearly, running an energy-filled finger over the cracks, repairing them almost instantly.

**"Demonic Arts: Demon State!"** he called, as his bones began to change shape.

Sakura recovered from her injury quickly, rushing the bent-over form, "LIKE I'LL LET YOU FINISH THAT!" she shouted, punching what she perceived to be his form.

Her punch hit only air, as the monster reappeared behind her. it uttered some uncomprehendable words in an ancient language, and shoot out a stream of green fire. Sakura just barely flipped over it, but suffered 2nd-degree burns from the proximity. The fire dug into the ground, coming only meters away from a gas line.

Sakura picked up the skeleton's sword in an attempt to use it against the new rival. Naruto smirked as her saw the former Yonshu deliver a raking blow with his claw to the flirtatious kunochi that cares more about her crush than she does her skill.

Sakura fell to the ground from the searing pain that followed, and was about to be finished off by a massive bone spike when something caught the gleaming spike.

"Yonshu," the Necromancer stated, "that will be enough. Return to your standard state, as you have proven to her that she is not ready to become a chunin." Naruto commanded, before turning to Sakura, "Sakura, you really need to stop failing so hard at life. When you recover, spend your time training, so you DON'T get killed in the field." he reprimanded.

Yonshu had changed back when he felt an odd sensation at his left hand. The bone fell apart, turning to dust as it his the floor. His left arm followed it partially, leaving a jagged bone left at the middle of the forearm.

Naruto looked concerned as he scooped up a handful of the dust off the floor, "Yonshu, you only have a set amount of chakra...I suggest you conserve it for when you really need it." he said with a sad look in his eyes.

The skeleton nodded faintly, before sheathing its sword with its one remaining arm.

Sarutobi coughed to gain attention, "Winner...Uzumaki Naruto!"

Tenten ran up to her love, hugging him, "So amazing Naruto-kun! You didn't even have to fight!" she whispered into his ear, following up with a lick to said appendage used for hearing, earning a blush from the boy.

Hinata was filled with rage, but knew that she would get her vengeance soon, so she pressed a hidden button in her sleeve to start the next match.

The board spun through names, passing Naruto and Sakura's, as it normally would.

* * *

Hyuuga Neji vs. Aburame Shino

* * *

Neji and Shino both walked down non-chalantly. The both bowed to each other, and looked towards the Sandaime.

Sandaime looked around for a second, his Alzheimer's kicking in for a while, before he sheepishly grinned, "Begin!" he Shouted, as if he was attempting to make up for the delay.

Shino had already been placing bugs around the field. Neji activated his Byakugan, and soon called out Shino.

"I see your bugs! No use hiding them from my all seeing-" he said, before he was interrupted by Shino.

"-Shut up. I know about your eyes. No use bragging, this match will be mine." the bug user calmly stated.

Neji charged, stopping before he touched the boy, "You are in range of my divination!" he called, to which Shino sighed.

"2 palms! 4 palms! 8 palms! 16 palms! 32 palms! 64 palms!" he called on each hit.

Shino stood motionless, then began to laugh. Neji stood gawking as he delivered a random flurry of jyuken strikes to the boy's tenketsu. This only caused Shino to laugh more.

Kiba knew that something must be wrong if Shino was laughing. Hinata really didn't give a damn, as she was too busy fantasizing about Naruto. Kurenai was not present at the moment, she had told the Heiress something about "Being busy with some of the finer pleasures of life" it was odd how Elric was missing as well...

Shino stooped laughing, "It would appear that my Kikai bugs ate the chakra behind your attack. After all, my exit holes are at the same points as my tenketsu..." he stated calmly, punching Neji in the stomach, before releasing a horde of bugs onto the boy.

Neji became weak, Shino was getting ready to hold a kunai to his throat, as Neji felt a death-glare from Hinata.

'Hinata-sama, I understand that if I fail, I'll probably have to undergo that same punishment again...' Neji thought.

Nobody noticed Hinata making a set of hand-seals before Neji felt a massive wave of Chakra wash over him.

Hinata giggled as she saw the effects of her newly created jutsu, 'The caged bird seal isn't all that bad. It can also act, according to what I've found on my "test subject", to transfer chakra from other branch members. Right now, the servants should be feeling a little woozy.' the creepy-cute girl thought.

Neji suddenly sped up, in reference to Shino, and delivered a fist to the back of Shino's neck, causing the bug user to black out. Neji smirked triumphantly as Sarutobi declared him the victor. Neji promptly fainted.

'But that isn't all it does! It then returns the borrowed chakra two-fold! That is what you get for weakness, Neji!' the girl thought viciously.

Hinata waited for the medics to get the hell off of the field, then pressed the hidden button. The board spun through the names again, skipping over previous fighters. The selection process stopped, and landed.

* * *

Hyuuga Hinata vs. Sabaku no Temari (I do this because she is Gaara's sister)

* * *

Temari looked at her opponent, smirking for the prospect of an easy battle. She jumped down, staring at the Hyuuga to follow suit. Hinata put on a fake face of worry, and slowly came down. The two bowed to each other, Hinata trying to look nervous while she did.

Sarutobi raised his hand from an easy-chair, mumbling something about, "Begin"

Hinata ran at Temari, who was thinking about dodging at the last second, when Hinata surprised her with a jyuken strike to the chest. Temari jumped back, and began to cough up blood. Hinata charged again.

'What is going on? Baki said she was the weakest one on her team, but-' Temari was thinking before she was burst in upon by Hinata's intent.

"HERE!" shouted Hinata, slowing down before she hit a small place on Temari's stomach.

Temari smirked as she felt no damage being done. Hinata smirked back, and twisted her hand, spinning her own body as she rotated it faster and faster.

Hinata narrated her own actions inside of her head, so as to remember what she had done to Neji the first time she tried it out, 'Neji was teaching me the Kaiten, when I thought of this: What if one made a Kaiten INSIDE someone else's body? Maybe by spinning the chakra inside of the victim's chakra repository in the stomach, the victims chakra can be manipulated against them! After that, I draw the turmoil-infused chakra out of the tenketsu, removing it all, and converting it into a jyuken strike!'

Hinata did just that.

Temari was in intense pain as the Hyuuga had scouted her Chakra system's direction, spun the other way, drawing the Chakra from the system backwards, and converting it into a typhoon. She felt her Tenketsu open, and Hinata stop spinning.

The pale-eyed girl drew out the chakra, now mixed with Temari's own blood, "Jyuken: Bloody Palm!" she called out, slamming the bleeding chakra into Temari's stomach again.

Temari screamed in a burst of pain, and flew into a distant wall from the force.

"Never underestimate your opponents!" the Hyuuga heiress called out, "That wasn't lethal, so get up and fight me!"

Temari stood shakily, using her fan as a crutch, before raising it without warning, and opening it with great force at the girl, who was smirking.

The sides of the fan came back to hit Temari, who let out a yelp of surprise. Hinata rushed up to her, and kicked her in the solar plexus.

The lavender-eyed girl pulled a large piece of paper-like stuff from her pack, spreading it to show Temari, "Looking for this?" she asked, holding the guts of Temari's fan.

Temari's eyes grew wide, and saw Hinata's foot come down on her head, knocking her out.

Sarutobi was about to declare Hinata the winner when the self-same girl interrupted, "Winner, Hyuuga Hinata, Heiress to the Hyuuga clan!" Hinata walked back up to the balcony.

A team of medics rushed Temari, "She has almost no chakra left! Her inner coils are heavily damaged! Large head trauma! Get her to the Hospital! Stat!" the lead medic called out to the others.

Naruto looked at the Hyuuga with surprise, he didn't know she could be that vicious. Hinata caught his gaze with a fierce blush. Gaara was also staring at the girl in surprise, he had KNOWN his sister was strong, just how strong was THIS girl? She didn't even seem winded.

Hinata smirked at her full chakra levels, 'I stole her chakra with that Bloody Palm strike, damn, I'm good. Even the jyuken strikes were not pushes, but _pulls_. I used her own chakra, by manipulating it with my own chakra control. That reminds me, when I get home, I'll have to smack that look off of my sister's face. Maybe even show her who's boss by means of Bloody Palm...' Hinata had an evil grin, somehow adorable, on her face.

Tenten was staring at the girl, freaked out at how much she had changed. Neji HAD said she had "changed", and maybe THIS was what he meant.

The Heiress pressed the button before anyone noticed the time lapse, and the board came to a decision.

* * *

Kinuta Dosu vs. Sabaku no Kankuro

* * *

Dosu jumped down in a hurry, and Kankuro just walked on down. The two faced each other, and Kankuro gave a bow. He stared at Dosu, who looked back.

"You are supposed to bow, you know." Kankuro reminded the sound ninja.

Dosu raised an eyebrow in anger, "I AM BOWING, ASSHOLE!" he cried out, before mumbling, "It's not my fault I have a spine problem..."

Kankuro put a hand behind his head, before the Sandaime called, "Begin!"

Dosu charged with his melody arm, and hit Kankuro full-force for insulting his spinal column. Kankuro's face-paint fell off to reveal a puppet, who stabbed Dosu with a poison-tipped blade. Dosu doubled over in shock, and Kankuro stabbed him again and again until he fell over.

"Too easy..." Kankuro sighed from the puppet's back.

Sarutobi quickly declared, "Winner, Sabaku no Kankuro!"

Hinata forced the Boards hand yet again.

* * *

Nara Shikamaru vs. Tsuchi Kin

* * *

"...How troublesome..." a certain lovable slacker groaned as he made his way to the ground, "I have to fight a girl..."

Kin happened to be raised in sound, and, because of what the name implies, heard his little remark, "Hey! Sexist! Stop whining!"

As soon as kin and Shikamaru attempted to bow to each other, the Sandaime said, "Begin" in a bored tone.

Kin threw needles at the Nara, who caught them all with his shadow. he had, after all, trained with Naruto at a young age to forget about about stupid, controlled techniques, and focus on just manipulating shadows and their corresponding objects or persons. He pulled the senbon to him, and pocketed them.

"HEY! Those are mine!" Kin shouted.

Naruto smirked, remembering a lesson he taught the lazy and wasteful Nara, _"Never waste materials, because...DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH THEY COST!?"_

Apparently, Shikamaru remembered as well, and fingered the senbon. in his pocket.

Kin had decided to try to piss him off, "I SEE WHAT YOU'RE DOING WITH MY NEEDLES, PERVERT!" she shouted at the sight of him 'caressing' her senbon.

Shikamaru mouthed, 'Troublesome', and tripped the girl with his shadow.

Kin tried to get up when she noticed she couldn't. Shikamaru had his hand outstretched, and he was controlling HER shadow from a distance without touching his own to it. He made her own shadow move to choke her, until she blacked out. He let the Medic-nin take care of THAT little problem.

"Winner, Nara Shikamaru!" voiced the Hokage.

Hinata immediatly pressed the button, to avoid an awkward silence.

* * *

Tenten vs Akimichi Choji

* * *

Tenten jumped down to the floor, that is, AFTER enraging Hinata by kissing Naruto deeply. Choji walked down like the blubber-bag he is, (YAY CHOJI!) eating a bag of Barbecue chips all the way. He got down, and bowed to Tenten at the same time she bowed to him.

Sarutobi got out his own bag of barbecue chips, and began to eat saying, "Begin." as he crunched.

Tenten started it off by throwing a kunai as fast as she could at Choji, embedding itself in his thigh.

Choji stared at the wound, "That wasn't very nice..." he said, beginning some hand seals.

Turning himself into a human tank, he rolled at Tenten, who simply pulled out a spear, and waited for him to come. Choji couldn't stop, and impaled his arm quite heavily.

Screaming in pain, his meat tank jutsu went awry, and he smacked Tenten with a massive arm to the side. Tenten grabbed onto the wall she landed on with chakra, and fired several needles into Choji's arm. She then drew out a set of four senbon with tags on them. The tags had little lightning bolts on them.

Tenten remembered Naruto helping her make these, using his tome to develop a new jutsu, _"The idea is to make a lightning field, to trap and damage to enemy. The larger they are, the more potent this attack."_ she smirked, and raised them, so as to show Naruto she was using them.

Naruto smirked at the sight of them, and channeled extra magic through the tags unnoticed. The senbon began to glow, and Tenten jumped into the sky.

Choji saw what looked like a glowing fan, and made to cover his body with his his arms. This was just what Tenten wanted, an unmoving target. She launched the needles at four corners of the tile he was on, each hitting their target perfectly. Tenten, seeing a confused Choji, withdrew a blue-tagged needle, the key to the jutsu.

_"The thunder cloud-senbon you fire above the others, the higher, the better. Once in the center, it is held aloft by the lightning it creates. It will keep producing a cage until you either knock it away with something, wait for the minute to expire, or launch the final attack." _ she remembers Naruto saying.

She shot the needle, producing a painful cage of lightning, electrocuting choji constantly.

_"Final attack?" _she remembers asking.

Tenten withdrew a red-tagged needle, with a massive lightning bolt on it.

_"Yeah, it has to strike the center of the target, causing the top needle to drain the energy from the base needles and strike the center in final. This will just knock the opponent out, but is REALLY cool. It is also the basis for another, lethal attack, IF, and ONLY IF the enemy is still standing." _he had said.

Tenten fired the needle, which struck Choji lightly in his round stomach. The bolt struck, and Choji stopped screaming. Tenten walked up towards him and removed the needles, including the one that had imbedded itself it the ceiling from the bolt.

"Winner, Tenten!" called the Sandaime.

The medics were approaching Choji with a stroller when the hokage waved them off. He reached into the bag of chips for the last one. Choji's eyes twitched, his nose rattled, his fingers jiggled, and he was up, with the chip in his hand.

Naruto mouthed, "NO WAY!" as Choji sent the final chip to its doom.

Hinata broke the mood by pressing the button yet again.

* * *

Akado Yoroi vs Uchiha Sasuke

* * *

The man with the shades began to walk down when Sasuke started taunting him from the ground, "I'm surprised to see you actually making it down, with you being blind and all. Somehow, it doesn't seem fair for you to fight against me. Watch that step, oh wait you can't!" the boy with the hair shaped like a chicken's rear yapped on.

Yoroi rolled his, quite lucid, eyes from under his sunglasses, "hey, kid, I'm not blind, I just like wearing shades." he said plainly, admiring his own reflection in the widened eyes if the "last" Uchiha.

The Sandaime looked at the two, and had to wait the entire two minutes until they figured out they were supposed to bow. "Begin!" he said, when they finally did.

Yoroi patiently waited for the cocky kid to try to attack first. he did not go unrewarded, as the Uchiha attempted a stolen series of kicks. He caught each kick, draining chakra each time. Sasuke punched Yoroi in the face, hiding a kunai in the hand. Just as he had thought Yoroi moved to block it. Sasuke jabbed the kunai into the older Ninja's hand, twisting it after he had struck.

Yoroi yowled in pain, as Sasuke stabbed kunai after kunai into his prone form. He then focused chakra to his left arm, and began a punch,

During the middle of the punch, Sasuke's sealed seal emitted a fire-like glow. Before anything could happen the dragon scale appeared on his arm, canceling out the glow with a stronger, green one. His arm connected with Yoroi's face, and, as soon as it did, a blast of fire exited the seal, propelling Sasuke's arm farther into Yoroi's face.

A sickening crack was heard, Naruto grinned, and a certain sound instructor looked incredibly angry. Sasuke gave a smirk, as he was common to do, at the sight of Yoroi on the ground, with a large amount of blood coming out of his mouth.

"Winner, Uchiha Sasuke!" Sarutobi said, twirling his beard in between his fingers.

The Med-nins barely got the "genin" off the field before Hinata pressed the button.

* * *

Lee vs. Inuzuka Kiba

* * *

Before Lee could jump down, he was held back by Gai, "Lee, I'm not sure if the other contestants have noticed it, but his dog is most likely an integral part of his fighting system!" Gai told his attentive student.

Lee nodded, and forsake his pencil and pad for added speed. He jumped off of the balcony, and gave his usual challenge pose to Kiba. Kiba walked down with Akamaru on his head. Akamaru and Kiba bowed simultaneously, as Lee gave such an exaggerated bow that he fell down.

Kiba figured this was a distraction tactic, and he was right, for when the Hokage called out "Begin!", he was immediately attacked by a flurry of feet. Right when the first kick landed, Kiba was sent into a wall, but the kicks kept coming. Lee had one of his bandages around the dog-user's waist, and was kicking furiously, only to be bitten by Akamaru's teeth.

With a yelp of pain, Lee tried to no avail to free himself. Kiba's teeth were also in the boy, and his were...well, BIGGER. Being bit on the shoulder and leg wasn't high up in Lee's "to do" list, so he activated the first of his gates, the burst of energy forcing the teeth to let go. He severed the bandage, and spun like a top to deliver a round house kick to both adversaries.

"You will never quench my flames of youth!" Lee shouted, opening as many gates as he could at once.

Naruto was taking notes, thinking up a new devious plot, as Lee pummeled Kiba at speeds so fast, only the Hokage, as well as a select few Jonin, were able to see him. And that was BEFORE he dropped his weights. The second the weights hit the floor, he took off to pound Kiba and his companion further.

Truth is, Kiba had been unconscious for the last 100 hits or so. Which meant about a second. Finally registering the K.O, Lee stopped.

"Winner, Lee!" shouted the Hokage, before running, personally, to the side of Kiba, "Good, still alive, MEDICS!" he called.

Lee fainted, after tearing so many muscles and ligaments. The Sandaime sighed, and returned to his seat.

Hinata pressed her hidden button with a sigh, 'I wish I had set it to auto, but NOOO, I HAD to go and give myself all control...'

* * *

Tsurugi Misumi vs Abumi Zaku

* * *

The two stepped down, and quickly bowed to each other.

"...Umm...begin?" the Sandaime asked, confused.

Zaku quickly called, "ZANKUHA!" and crushed the "Leaf genin" against the wall.

Unfortunately for the "Leaf genin" a piece of re-bar lay there, and impaled the boy's head. Most of the other contestants looked away at the brain splatter, except for a few, namely Gaara, Naruto, the Sandaime, Baki, and the mysterious sound jonin.

The Sandaime used a removal jutsu he had mastered just for this purpose to clean it up. The Medics on the other side of the room had to rush over and sweep up the ashes. Sarutobi began to mourn, and left the room.

Hinata left a minute of silence, or at least she had intended to, when Sabaku no Gaara moved directly in front of Ino.

"Mother wants your blood." he informed the girl, sand swirling around him.

Ino backed away, "T-that's o-okay, I-i fo-forfit..." she ran out of the arena.

Gaara looked at the ground, "Why do I always tell people that? They seem to run away when I do..."

Sarutobi walked back in, red eyes covered by a genjutsu, "I am aware Yamanaka Ino surrendered to Sabaku no Gaara. As is such, I would ask for the winners of the match to come forth. You will be given numbers, on a basis of one to ten, and that is your entry slot for the tournament."

The winners stepped forward, but not before Hinata used a sealing jutsu to make the button vanish.

"1-Lee! 2-Sabaku no Kankuro!" at this, Kankuro backed up slightly.

"3-Uzumaki Naruto! 4-Hyuuga Neji!" Naruto looked towards his prey, and grinned, causing Neji to pale.

"5-Sabaku no Gaara! 6-Uchiha Sasuke!" Gaara had 'that' look in his eyes, you know, that ' mother want's your blood' one.

"7-Nara Shikamaru! 8-Tenten!" Shikamaru quickly thought, 'After what happened to Choji? NOOOOOOO!'

"9-Hyuuga Hinata! 10-Abumi Zaku!" Zaku was afraid for his very life, after seeing what happened to that Temari chick.

The Hokage continued, "These decisions are final! If you want to give up, do so at the Stadium. You have one month to prepare! Make use of it. If you don't show, you are disqualified!"

Naruto walked out of the stadium with Tenten in his arms, Pyron on his head, and Yonshu following close behind, "Like it is even going to be a problem!" he shouted confidently.

* * *

Naruto's Mindscape

* * *

The bunny had an entire side solved already, _"I would not say such things if I were you...Naruto-sama...After all, a month should be plenty...TO SOLVE THIS DAMN THING!"_ a piece of Stormbringer, the final one, was strapped to his back, emitting a black glow, and humming with the souls of countless innocents.

* * *

End of Leaves of Steel, Chapter 18

* * *

Something smells ominous...I can't quite shake the feeling...OH YEAH! The people Naruto knows and loves are in danger!...How could I have overlooked that? Prepare for a Time-skip! (I do that so as not to constantly write dates and times...it is...too Troublesome 

-Johnhamsta


	19. Chapter 19

Alright! 19th Chapter!

* * *

206 reviews, 53,000+ hits!

* * *

...Yeah...Timeskip over the course of one month...

Disclaimer! I don't own Naruto or Elric...much...ON WITH THE SHOW!

* * *

"Blah"-person speaking...'Blah'-person thinking...**"Blah"**-Demon speaking...**'Blah'**-Demon thinking..._"Blah"_-Memory speaking(they don't think)...**_'Blah'_**-Pyron speaking through mental pathways.

* * *

Leaves of Steel, Chapter 19

* * *

Naruto's Mindscape- 1 month later

* * *

_"SO CLOSE! I only have to move...wait...let's think...that line up, rotate to the left..." _The rabbit thought, having never tried one of these puzzles before, _"And...GOT IT!"_

The Cube was solved, and fell to pieces. A fleshy blob of brain was revealed.

A message was sent to the rabbit's brain, **"DO IT! STRIKE THE SHARD INTO THE MIND!"**

The rabbit twirled the shard on his paw, and deftly stabbed the surface of the brain with the dark shard, _"It is done" _ the small mammal stated.

* * *

Real World: 7:05AM

* * *

Naruto woke with a start, and felt a pain in his head. He had not been able to fight the monsters in his mind for the longest time. When he had asked Stormbringer of these changes, it only responded, **"Renovations"**

Clutching the head, he walked to his mirror, gazing into it. He saw the reflection of a strong youth. He had slowly made alterations to his body, darkening his "hair", thickening his "muscle", increasing his height. None of these meant a thing though, as the blond could change his physical appearance at any time. he just needed the subtle alterations to make sure nobody noticed.

"Yonshu, I know you are there, come on out." Naruto ordered. swinging the closet door open.

The door opened to reveal Yonshu hanging by the neck, his eye sockets empty after he figured out he could eat those as well, **"I think you have a skeleton in your closet...wouldn't want the council to find out about this, now would we?"** the undead stated, as he unhooked himself.

"Ha-ha, very funny. Grab your sword, we're going." the necromancer commanded, before making a demonic seal, summoning a yawning dragon.

**_"Hi, Naruto-sama...Do we have a mission today?"_** the mythical creature asked.

"No, we have the finals of the chunin exams today." Naruto didn't stick around to finish his sentence, walking out of the door.

Pyron and Yonshu nodded, and followed closely behind, with the skeleton locking the door.

As they walked down the street, Yonshu slipped into the shadows, Pyron choosing to jump onto Naruto's head. The reason for this action was the familiar auras of a pink, loudmouth failure, and an "Avenger".

The two were walking up to Naruto when Sakura tripped and fell. She looked to see what she tripped over, only to find a grinning skull on the ground. She shrieked and threw the skull against the wall, only to have it be caught be a bony arm.

**"That wasn't very nice..."** Yonshu stated with a smile.

"Where have you been for the past month, Naruto?" asked Sasuke.

"You know; slaying vast amounts of bandits, eating more ramen then should be humanly possible, reaching absurd levels of power, having a girlfriend, or, in other words: Things. You. Can't. Do." Naruto stated blandly.

Sasuke rushed his face with a fist, only to have it be stopped by a skeletal hand, delivering a massive crushing force on his method of attack, "You can't even get past my skeletal assistant, what makes you think you have a _chance_ at beating me?" Naruto said coldly, walking to the stadium.

Sasuke nursed his hand while Sakura fawned over him, "It'll be okay, Sasuke-kun, you are the strongest of the Genin."

* * *

At the stadium: 7:22AM

* * *

Naruto was sitting in the contestant's box, rapidly drawing seals onto paper, as he remembered that his Teacher would be gone for a while yet.

* * *

_**Flashback!**_

* * *

"I'll be gone a while, Naruto. Train your sense of seals, until you know the entire book. When I come back, you have to be better than I was." Elric had said, making a slight joke at the end as he departed on his horse, Kawska.

* * *

_**End flashback!**_

* * *

__

Tenten walked into the box, and, as she saw Naruto, squealed and ran up to him like the very hounds of hell were at her heels, "NARUTO-KUN!"

He caught the girl in his arms, who swiftly moved up to his lips, captivating them in her favorite pastime. Not too hard to figure out.

"Naruto-kun," she said, in gasps between kisses, "I mastered the move we were talking about, it is simply awaiting the seals."

Naruto pulled out the pieces of paper, "Well then, here you go," he said, handing them to his girlfriend, "Make sure you stay safe..."

Tenten nodded, and put the seals in a pocket. She then proceeded with her previous course of action.

* * *

Hyuga Estate: 7:30AM

* * *

Hiashi was on the ground, panting. His chakra system was nearly depleted, and he had just lost the title of Main House Head. The one who claimed the title was leaving the estate, head held high, with a branch member following. The rest of the branch members were bowing to the departing person.

'How could I, Hyuga Hiashi, lose to that person? I am...I...I was...powerful...How could I be beaten without "that person" breaking a sweat? How did they do it in one move!? What shall become of me?' thought the bleeding man, before he looked at the-one-who-surpassed-him's dark blue hair, and lost consciousness.

* * *

Stadium: 7:40AM

* * *

The last of the competitors filed in, much to the pleasure of the cheering crowd. The stands were full, with copious "We love Uchiha" banners. The Sandaime looked over at the clan seating, only to see that Hyuuga Hiashi was absent. He slowly got off his throne, and made his way to the plethora of lavender eyes.

"Hanabi-chan?" the Hokage asked, drawing the girl's attention, "Where is Hiashi? I've looked around for him, but his reserved 'Clan Head' seat is empty."

Hanabi looked down at the ground, before raising her head in a weak smile, "Tou-san..." the young Hyuuga began, "Lost a challenge for Clan Head." suddenly Hanabi smiled, "But that was because his conqueror was stronger...We never thought the person that beat him was worth our attention, so we were blind to the training they undertook in the past month." Hanabi raised a finger, "One. Tou-san was beaten in one move." she raised a second finger, "Two. Tou-san must spend two days recovering his lost chakra." the girl raised a third finger, "Three. I will be declared official Heiress in 3 weeks!"

Sarutobi smiled, and patted Hanabi's head, "Good, good. Who is the new Clan Head?" Sarutobi asked, looking at the vacant seat.

"You'll find out soon!" Hanabi giggled, and patted the Hokage's head, in vengeance.

Sarutobi looked down at the field, finding Neji and Hinata standing as if nothing had happened. He looked around at the other Hyuuga members, and found that all of them ,or at least the ones that were capable of using the Byakugan, were sitting in their seats, waiting patiently for the tourney to start. He flipped over his Data-book cover, and reviewed the list of all active Hyugas, to find that nearly all were here, with only the bodyguards and medics remaining at the estate.

'Curious...' the old man thought, before returning to his throne by the Kazekage, who had an uneventful trip to Konoha.

"Hokage-sama," began the man sitting beside him, "Do you care to wager on the outcome of the tourney? 5,000, perhaps? A small sum, I know, but just enough for a bar tab..." The Kazekage said, reminding Sarutobi of that man's drinking habits.

"...Fine, old friend. 5,000 on Uzumaki Naruto." the Hokage proudly stated, pulling out his wallet.

"5,000 on Sabaku no Garra." the Wind-Leader stated, "As it is only proper for me to bet on my son."

The two shook hands, combining the shake with one they had developed countless years ago.

* * *

Down on the field: 7:45AM

* * *

Hayate stepped forward, and raised a hand for silence., "The final stage of the Chunin Exams will now commence!" he called out, signaling the massive data boards to be withdrawn from the sidelines, and raised to the middle of the stadium, where they were kept aloft by an intricate system of steel wiring.

The board displayed the first fighters: Lee vs. Sabaku no Kankuro

Hayate called out again, "Will the first two fighters please remain on the field. The ones who are not competing at this moment may wait on the competitor's observation deck!"

Everyone but Lee and Kankuro went up, leaving the puppet-master and Die-Hard Taijutsu specialist standing on two points, with Hayate in the middle. The man pulled out a whistle, and jumped back, signaling the start of the match with a shrill sound.

Lee dropped to one knee, and carefully unfastened his weights. He laid these gently on the ground, and took off at a high speed towards the Sand-nin.

"FEEL THE HEAT OF MY FLAMES OF YOUTH!" shouted Lee, as he launched into a roundhouse kick, sending Kankuro flying into a tree, his wrapped object lodging itself into a branch.

The recently hit boy got up, and brushed himself off, only to find Lee's fist collide with his head. The head started spinning around, and lifted itself off of the body, which grabbed Lee in a bear hug. Kankuro burst from the wrappings, and twitched a finger, sending the poisoned spike, protruding from the neck of the puppet's head, straight to the boy's heart.

Lee spun himself around, hoping to use the puppet to block the attack. Kankuro spun him back, before realizing that Lee was waiting for him to do this.

'Ha! The puppet is now off-balance, so...' the boy thought, before shouting, "Konoha Senpu!" launching the puppet into its own attack by force.

Lee moved as a wisp to the back of the puppet-master, and delivered a knee to the small of the back, restraining Kankuro as soon as he did so.

Lee finished wrapping Kankuro's hands, rendering his Puppet jutsu useless, before Hayate declared the victor.

* * *

"Winner! Lee!" shouted the man, "He will go on to fight the winner of the round-one-match between Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuga Neji in round two!" Hayate then pointed Lee to the observation deck as the Medic-ninja untied Kankuro, dragging him off the field.

The plaques that displayed the stats of Lee and Kankuro was covered over by ones for Naruto and Neji.

Naruto let go of Tenten's hand, much to the girl's dismay, and walked down to the floor of the stadium. Neji walked down calmly, and took the classic Jyuken pose. Naruto grabbed hold of his large trench coat, looking ready to take it off.

Hayate looked at both competitors, and then jumped back, blowing his whistle to signal the start of the match. Neji waited for Naruto to make the first move, and that he did. Naruto took his jacket off with one hand, throwing it into the air. Pyron swooped down to catch it in his claws, and then set it on a tree, where he stood guard over it.

The blond was soon the target of many young ladies' stares, as his, now chiseled, body drew much attention. He drew Stormbringer from its case, which he threw at Neji.

The throw was so powerful, Neji was only able to twist away, as it shot through the region his head was occupying a few seconds ago. The mighty throw ended up lodging the sheath in the wall, even though it was very flat on the tip. The crater shook the wall, and was clearly an intended head-shot.

Neji gazed back at the wall with his Byakugan, then rushed towards Naruto, stopping just short of his sword's reach, "You are in the range of my divination! Hakke Hyaku Nijuchachi Sho: 2 strikes!" he called out, slamming his fingertips into Naruto's Tenketsu, "4 strikes! 8 strikes! 16 strikes! 32 strikes! 64 strikes! 128 strikes!"

As he finished, Naruto laughed, backhanding the boy across the arena, "Did you _really_ think that would work on me?" the blond asked Neji, before ripping off his own vest, "You. Are. Weak." he taunted, running up to the boy and slamming the flat of his sword into Neji's back.

Naruto failed to see Neji switch out with a log, which was reduced to sawdust. The crowd gasped at the display of strength. Neji however, jumped out of the tree and hit more Tenketsu. The blond genin stood still, and let Neji wail upon him.

"Are you quite done?" Naruto asked in a bored tone.

'Why do my fingertips hurt?' wondered Neji, as he prepared hand seals for a Katon Jutsu that he had been allowed to learn, "Katon: Karyuu Endan!" he shouted, launching a large flaming dragon from his mouth.

Naruto's eyes widened at the fire. It hit. He screamed in pain.

Neji thought, 'It isn't supposed to hurt that badly...is he faking it?'

The truth was that the metal acted as a conductor. His cells were not made of metal, only lined with it. The metal coverings became like little ovens, baking Naruto's cells all crispy-like. Naruto fell to the ground, still aflame.

* * *

Naruto's mindscape

* * *

The castle was on fire. The fields were on fire. Hell, even the moat was on fire! Naruto stood at the gates to the castle, Stormbringer calling to him.

**"Naruto! Get into the castle! Their should be one of my shards left in a room! Hurry and get it! Before you burn to death!"** the god called, urging Naruto to enter the flames.

Naruto nodded, he didn't want to die just yet. He ran inside, to find that a battle had taken place between the memories. Now, all of them were working together to control the blaze, pushing rubble out of Naruto's way as he ran through.

Suddenly, the rabbit appeared, and grabbed Naruto's hand, pulling him along, _"Hurry Naruto-sama! The shard is in this room!"_

They entered a room, the only one not ablaze. There lay pieces of a colored cube, but that wasn't important. Naruto ripped the shard out of the pulsating pink glob, removing whatever taint it had passed. The rabbit flinched at this, but Naruto didn't notice. He ran at full speed out of the tower, pushing objects and figments from his path.

He appeared at Stormbringer's tower, and kicked the doors open. Not wasting any time, he slammed the shard into the empty portion of the sword imprint, filling it. The world shuddered, and Naruto faded out.

* * *

Real World

* * *

Tenten and Hinata were crying, until they saw Naruto rise, the fire being washed away by a black fog. Pure power emanated from the sword in his hand,as it changed form again. The blade grew less wide, and only a small bit shorter. The handle shortened as well, and could only fit two and a half hands now. It retained it's black taint, and grew spikes at intervals where the sword grew wider then smaller. A serpent that swallowed itself appeared at the hilt, and the cross guards became its wings. Naruto pulled the sword behind his body, and charged at Neji.

The Hyuga Branch-house prodigy could not move for the fear of death was at his heels. He closed his eyes to await the inevitable. Naruto slowed down, and brought his sword, with a strong grip, to Neji's vulnerable neck.

**"Do it. End his existence for inflicting that pain unto you."** Stormbringer goaded Naruto, as he was only audible to him, as the blade vibrated ever-so-close to Neji's skin.

Naruto struggled against the sword, keeping it in place. Neji still didn't move. A black fog began to drip off the sword, starting as what seemed like a black water droplet, then splashing into such a fog as it hit the ground. From the fog emerged images of Naruto killing Neji in varying ways, each more brutal than the last.

He wanted to do it. he WANTED to. He pushed the blade closer, and it hummed with intent. Naruto raised his left hand to the wall, and the sheath came back to him. He flipped it onto his back.

"No." Naruto whispered, as he lowered the sword.

Stormbringer thought to itself, **'Nobody says "No" to me, NOBODY!'** as the sword extended, unnoticed, and made the tiniest incision, less than a paper-cut, on Neji's skin, covering his collar-bone.

**'The link is made, there is no stopping it now.'** Stormbringer thought to himself, as it was sheathed.

Neji raised his hand in defeat, "I surrender" he said, and ran out of the arena, knowing that, if he had continued, NAruto would have ended his life.

Naruto walked slowly to the stairs, as his metal-based skin repaired itself at a speed seen never before. As he took his first step, he heard clapping, a second step, and 10 more hands joined, another, and soon the entirety of the west corner was applauding him, on the third step, the whole stadium was cheering and calling his name. His cheeks raised in a grin.

* * *

Hayate cut it al short by calling out the next competitors, as the signs were replaced by Chunin, "Will Sabaku no Gaara and Uchiha Sasuke please come down to the floor?"

Gaara cut the trip short with his sand, teleporting down. Sasuke just walked, hoping not to waste chakra. Hayate blew his whistle, and Sasuke rushed at the red-haired boy, thinking that he could beat him quickly.

Gaara stared impassively at the boy, then flipped him into a wall with his sand. Sasuke gripped onto said wall, and began a number of seals, activating his Sharingan, showing 2 tomoe on each eye, and the chirping of birds came into audible range. He rushed at Gaara again, as the Sand ninja made a dome to protect himself. Sasuke dodged the giant sandstone spikes, and pierced the sand.

Gaara was fine, the sand constricted around the boy's arm, and Gaara broke it. Sasuke screamed in pain, and Gaara threw him into a wall, knocking him unconscious.

"Hokage-sama, you are lucky I didn't feel like killing you precious _Uchiha, _because he was annoying." Gaara called out, before returning to the booth.

* * *

The board was changed again, showing Tenten vs Nara Shikamaru

Hayate was about to announce this when the Nara called out, "I quit, I don't want to face what Choji went through. She scares me..."

Hayate nodded, and Shikamaru left the stadium. Hayate then shrugged, and the Chunin moved new plaques into place, ones reading Hyuga Hinata vs. Abumi Zaku.

Before Hayate could call anything out, Gaara raised his hand, "Sorry, but he pissed me off a week ago...I killed him...

Hayate sighed, and wrote a "x" through the sound-nin's name.

"Alright then, we'll take a thirty minute break, and then get back to this." called Hayate.

* * *

End of Leaves of Steel, Chapter 19

* * *

So...Yeah...Chapter 20 will be the conclusion of the Chunin Exams...which I am actually going to finish! Surprise I know that most perople actually do teh invasion, but I don't feel that Orochimaru is ready, after he was nearly beaten and all..

Also, Naruto has a weakness!cue dramatic music

-Johnhamsta


	20. Chapter 20

Alright! 20th Chapter! (Finally...)

218 reviews, 59,000+ hits!

* * *

Listen, I'm sorry about not updating for...2 weeks? I've been quite...well...Ah, I'll come out and say it! I've. Been. Procrastinating! That's right folks! Also, fakeivy pointed out a small flaw, that, since Naruto gained Kyuubi's genetic memory of fire resistance, that he should not have been affected. Well, fact of the matter, He gained only a resistance to fire, not a constant stream of it, which still acts as a kiln. But thatnks for pointing that out! You get...well...your name in writing...I guess...

Disclaimer! As much as I'd like to own Naruto, as well as Elric, I don't own them...Nor, at this point, would I WANT to own Naruto! Has anyone seen that poor excuse of a fanfic they called the latest manga chapter? I mean, honestly, EVERYONE takes Zabuza's sword! Heck, even I did! ...ON WITH THE SHOW!

* * *

"Blah"-person speaking...'Blah'-person thinking...**"Blah"**-Demon speaking...**'Blah'**-Demon thinking..._"Blah"_-Memory speaking(they don't think)...**_'Blah'_**-Pyron speaking through mental pathways.

* * *

Leaves of Steel, Chapter 20

* * *

Chunin Stadiums 8:25AM

* * *

Tenten was searching for the Blond Genin for 25 of the 30 minutes, but could not find him, buns bobbing in frustration.

"NARUTO! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!?" she screamed, rattling the kunai in a nearby ANBU's holster.

Said ANBU was wearing a dog mask, leaning against the wall. He or she had been instructed to watch over this particular competitor, as each ANBU had a charge in their care. The ANBU was a specialist in emotions, and said ANBU was thinking only one thing:

'Whoever that Naruto is, he had better not piss her off further.'

In truth, Naruto was in the hospital wing, looking over the Hyuuga's Branch House Prodigy, Neji. He could feel it. He could see it. He knew the cut was there. He knew what was going to happen to him. So did Hinata.

Hinata was standing outside the room, re-reading her notes. She had been there. That day, when Naruto had cut his teacher. She had visited the dying man, and knew, by use of her Byakugan, what was happening to him. She saw his coils loosening, and, by some odd paradox, she had seen Neji's go through the same process.

'Pah, he was weak anyways!' thought the emboldened Hyuuga Heiress, 'It was his fault he refused the armor I offered him before the exam. Oh well, at least that means Naruto-kun will get stronger!' she ended, on a happy note.

Lee ran by her, into the room, "Neji!" he called to the unconscious male, before switiching his sights to Naruto, "I'm sure that, whatever you did to my team-mate, it was EXTREMELY un-youthful! I will pay you back, during our fight, and that is a promise!" he shouted in Naruto's face, before a bony appendage ripped him away.

**"Well, well, what have we here? Threatening my master? I will have none of this!"** the skeletal figure, who had stepped out of the shadows, said, in a menacing tone.

He lifted the green-clad warrior, and stepped towards his Necromancer, his link to life, **"I wish to fight this upcoming battle in your stead, Naruto-sama!"** he demanded, a shaking finger pointed at Lee.

Naruto simply nodded, and left Neji's ward. As he did this, Yonshu gripped Lee by the collar of his suit, and slammed him against the wall, before relaxing his grip, and letting him slide down. The Undead left, with a vicious grin upon his bones.

Lee's breaths came rapidly, as he saw the bones of the left hand, bleached white, form into the seal of the demon, middle and ring fingers down, pointer and pinky up. Resting to the side of the pointer lay the thumb, extended to its fullest. Said seal flashed green, and Neji convulsed in pain.

Lee ran to his friend's side, "Neji! I swear, upon the name of Gai, that I shall avenge you!" the boy then left, unaware of the cut, bubbling spiritual energy, increasing output by the second.

* * *

Stadium: 8:30 AM

* * *

Hayate called the competitors to their box, and signaled that the break was over. The Kages had been sharing a bottle of Sake, laughing about the old times, which they promptly stopped, regaining that regal look they always maintained. A flare signaled that the matches were about to start.

Hayate silenced the crowd, and called out to them, "Lee vs. Uzumaki Naruto!"

Lee ran down at full speed, which appeared to be shunshin. Naruto simply sat at the base of the stairs, waving Yonshu into battle. The animated dead walked to the center of the ring, bones clinking like wind-chimes.

Hayate yelled "Start!", and so they did.

To be more precise, Lee did. He performed his sensei's famous "Dynamic Entry", and followed up with bone-shattering punches. Or at least, they would have shattered bones, had he connected.

Yonshu was simply standing his ground, one hand blocking the kick, and all punches. He pulled his right hand back, so that the back of his hand was parallel to his chest cavity. He stepped forward, into his attack. The slap connected, and pressure seemed to slow, as Lee did not move. Then, Yonshu followed through, pulling said back-hand to the right side of his body, launching Lee into a wall.

The green-clad boy bounced off the wall, and began to spin into a whirlwind round-house. Yonshu was sent flying this time, cracking against the wall. He raised his right hand calmly, into the demon seal, and focused energy. A stream of old language, harsh to the ears, was uttered, and a glob of green, purple, and black encircled the seal. Yonshu then whipped the seal forward, and sharply back. thus was a large ball, which all signs meant "danger" was rocketing towards the Leaf Genin.

Lee barely dodged, losing a great deal of his balance, and soon found that a sword, gleaming red with blood, had been lodged into his side.

**"This is the part where you scream..."** reminded Yonshu, as fire began to run the course of the blade, searing Lee's wound, inside and out.

Lee jumped away, forcing open two gates. Unknown to either participant, Naruto had flipped a switch in Yonshu's body as well, but this one was different.

'Yonshu is becoming burdensome. Time to rid myself of both him and this "Lee" fellow.' the necromancer thought.

Yonshu paused. He felt powerful. He knew what was happening, to some extent. He could feel each gate open. He counted off each burst of power, **'One, two, three, four, five, six, seven...eight?!!'**

It activated. The bones cracked, and the twisted nether flowed into him.

**"What are your wishes, Naruto-sama?"** the new beast asked.

Naruto smirked, 'Kill him. Once you finish with him, move on the land of sound. Kill them all' he ordered mentally.

The Demon smirked,, and turned to Lee. It looked into the scared boy's eyes, paralyzing him with fear. It stabbed its right claw into the ground, pulling out the sword that had been jammed into it during the transformation. The blade grew. It didn't stop until it was the size of a horse. It ran to the left of Lee, slicing upwards, cutting the boy in twain. The Demon then barreled through the wall, towards the land of sound.

Sarutobi saw the boy cut, and shunshin'ed down to Naruto, "WHAT DID YOU DO, NARUTO?!" he yelled at the boy, a series of tears leaking down his face.

The boy's head turned upwards, **"I'm sorry, Naruto isn't here right now, please leave a message, and I'll tell him...maybe."** his mouth moved, and his arm pulled back.

The ANBU were focusing chakra as fast as they could, but the boy's actions were a blur. The very same ANBU that had been watching over Tenten saw an arc cut through the Hokage's head.

The head left the body. The boy vanished, only to re-appear in the Kage's booth, giving the same service to the Kazekage. The ANBU, along with the Sand's personal guard, all rushed at the boy, who drew his black blade from their stomachs, killing each in a hit.

It was at this time that Neji's heart stopped beating. It was at this time when Tenten fainted,. It was at this time that Hinata grinned. What remained of the Konoha shinobi all charged at the murderer, except for Hinata, Tenten, Sakura, Sasuke, and Shikamaru. Sakura blacked out from the terror, Sasuke was still unconscious, and Shikamaru's very soul was broken.

A glimmer appeared in the Blond's eyes, as black metal poured from his pores, covering his body in dark armor, replete with spikes, tastefully placed. The new dark visage swung his sword, cutting many in a single stroke. As the dead fell, the citizens began to flee.

The newcomer would have none of that, as he rushed, cutting down Old Man Ichiraku, his daughter, their customers, the relatives of those customers, and finally he came to a single standing person.

**"Shikamaru..."** the voice said.

The pineapple-haired genin gulped, before he found himself without a neck.

**"It was nice to know you."** he stated, before beginning his slow walk to the hole in the wall, made by the demon.

Iruka jumped in front of him, "Naru-" he was yelling, before he felt the cold grip of sudden death.

The boy paused for nobody, and then took off, like a comet, headed for collision with a major city. Indeed, EXACTLY like that.

* * *

Hidden Village of Sound 10:00AM

* * *

The Demon had been enjoying the blood of the Oto-nins, and was rudely interrupted by a white-haired medic.

"You!" shouted the medic, "You killed them!"

**"Wow, did you just figure that out? Leave it to humans to state the obvious."** the Demon pointed out, before returning to his little "feast".

Before the medic could strike, he was struck down by a blaze of black steel.

**"Glad you could join me, Stormbringer-sama..."** the Demon stated.

The boy tilted his head back and laughed.

The Demon ignored the maniacal laughter, and continued to feast.

Stormbringer stopped, and motioned for the Demon to do the same, **"Would you like to hear some poetry?" **the god asked.

**"Very much so."** his pet Demon replied.

**"Too all those killed on the battlefield, I call your spirits, bodies healed. I ask you you dead to serve me now, but in what way, I dare say not how. From Death are your souls deterred, your weapons sharpened, movements spurred. I RELEASE THEE FROM THE VOID!"**the god recited, greeted by the sounds of movement.

The bodies rose, lifeless eyes lifeless no more, but soulless still.The Demon clapped. The sword swung, the applause stopped.

**"I have no use for you anymore, other than your power."** Stormbringer said to the fallen Demon, red soul running into the sword.

The god then pointed at the bodies, which arranged themselves into a line, which was walked by Stormbringer, cutting the heads off of each one.

**"All this power...So close...I need the other 8..."** the God stated, making his way to a particular mountainside.

* * *

End of Leaves of Steel, Chapter 20

* * *

I BET YOU DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING!!!! Hey, I finished the exams. I never said anyone would become a chunin, or that there would be villages left to be a chunin to! Please, I want to hear what you have to say on this chapter! And that means all of you! Even if you don't have an account! Just voice your outrage at the deaths of Kiba, Ino, Shino, Choji, Shikamaru, Lee, Gai, Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai, Anko, etc...!

This doesn't mean the story is over! I still have 5 chapters to go!

-Johnhamsta


	21. Chapter 21

Alright! 21st Chapter!

237 reviews, 61,000+ hits!

* * *

I feel that I need to re-adress nearly every statement I've made in the beginning of my stories. First of all, against the decision in chapter one that "I will NOT write and overpowered piece..." well, guess what? I did. Get over it. Secondly, from chapter one, "...for if I owned Naruto, there would be no fillers..." by this I meant that the fillers wouldn't be called "fillers" they would be bona-fied plot. Secondly, my statement to Masked Critic, in chapter two, that I would "...be good from now on..." I now withdraw. I plan on doing what I feel like, to express the way I write.

Disclaimer! THIS IS FREAKIN' FAN-FICTION!!!! THAT MEANS I DON'T OWN NARUTO OR ELRIC!!! When I find the person that started this...I'm opening up a can of void...ON WITH THE SHOW!

* * *

"Blah"-person speaking...'Blah'-person thinking...**"Blah"**-Demon speaking...**'Blah'**-Demon thinking..._"Blah"_-Memory speaking(they don't think)...**_'Blah'_**-Pyron speaking through mental pathways.

* * *

Leaves of Steel, Chapter 21

* * *

Outside of Konoha: 12:01 PM

* * *

Two people were coursing through the trees like blood through water; first, an old man, wearing tall sandals and face-paint, a gleaming forehead protector reading "Oil"; second a seemingly young woman, large...tracks of land, a green jacket, and a diamond-shaped tattoo on her forehead.

"Jiraya," asked the blonde woman, "how did you find me today of all days, when you haven't known where I was for a few years?"

"Easy." replied the toad summoner, "I used my patented jutsu that locates the woman with the largest breasts!" he ended with a perverted, yet somehow serious grin.

Tsunade was about to hit him when they came upon a section of wall, with a giant hole through it. They saw giant footprints leading from the hole in the direction of sound.

"Tsunade! Could this be the work of Oro-teme? It is leading toward sound!" Jiraya's mind was flowing wildly about.

Tsunade remained silent, as they jumped inside the cities limits.

"W-wait..." cried a weak voice, "Tsunade-sama...I can help..."

Tsunade and Jiraya turned around to find a Mr. Yamanaka Inochi crawling along the ground, his legs broken.

"Inochi-san!" Tsunade called out, rushing over to him, hands charged with healing chakra.

She rapidly healed his wounds, and then saw him eat both a blood pill and a soldier's pill. He stood up, fully trusting in Tsunade's battlefield medical capabilities.

"Tsunade-sama, one Uzumaki Naruto has committed a worse treason than Uchiha Itachi, killing well over 1,000 citizens, and probably 300 Ninja. We are currently left with 4 genin, 7 chunin, 3 jonin, and one special jonin. No medics were lost, and the majority of citizens were evac'ed to the mountain stronghold. The council was also slaughtered, so, as a jonin, I hereby petition either you or Jiraya to take...S-s...Sarutobi-sama's place as Hokage elect!" Inochi cried.

Jiraya raised his hand, "It is obvious to me that the majority of Konoha, which was the largest area of book-sales of my Icha-Icha series, is in need of assistance. As a Sannin of Konoha, and next in line, based off completed missions, I hereby accept." his face had taken on an air of seriousness as he said this.

Tsunade ran over to the hospital without a word, to see if there were any that could be saved by her hand, 'Now is not the time to be afraid of blood. Now is not the time...' she thought over and over again.

Hokage-sama, if you will, the Yamanaka survivors wish to show you a plan we have devised." he stated, walking with a slight limp to his clan house, Jiraya in tow.

* * *

Konoha hospital: 12:10 PM

* * *

Tsunade, without express permission, began to heal anyone she could see the moment she walked in the door. She was whipping out healing scrolls, pre-made, to conserve her chakra.

A medic ran up to her, "Tsu-Tsunade-sama?" he asked incredibly, "Why are you here?"

Tsunade kept working as she talked, "I don't really have time to explain! What are your worse cases?!" she commanded.

The medic led her over slowly, as she kept stopping to heal people from smaller scrolls she withdrew from a huge one on her back. SHe had so many seals on the scroll, she had only unfurled it 3 feet.

When they reached the critical ward, she didn't ask questions, she looked at their papers, and began to set up scrolls, before turning to Sasuke, "An Uchiha?" she asked.

"Itachi's little brother." the medic stated simply, as Tsunade healed his wounds as well.

* * *

Yamanaka clan house: 12:22PM

* * *

"We, the Elders of the Yamanaka clan, have a report to make. We have found that the boy was harboring the Sealed God, Stormbringer, who was sealed by the fourth into an orb. Said orb was placed in a mountain, where only a member of his family could open it, We found that, since Naruto was able to retrieve the orb, he must therefore be a relative of the Yondaime. Based off birth records, we have come to the conclusion that Arashi WAS the last of his blood. That was, UNTIL Naruto opened the chamber. Based off this information, Naruto is the son of the Yondaime." the Elder finished.

"A...all this time.." Jiraya mumbled, before it turned into a yell, "ALL THIS TIME I NEVER KNEW, ARASHI!!! I COULD HAVE HELPED! WHY??!?!?! " the Hokage elect began to gasp, before regaining his composure, "I propose the use of the Yamanaka mind bomb. Naruto-san is still in there, we just have to help him."

The Elders nodded, and withdrew a package from underneath the table, "We thought you'd say this."

* * *

On the way to the mountain: 12:30

* * *

**"Orochimaru! Come out to play!"** called the no-longer blonde boy. His hair had turned black, with green stripes running along each strand.

As soon as he cat-called, a stripe of purple flew into him, knocking him into a tree. Manda rose from his stomach, and hissed.

"_Orochimaru...why am I here?_" the reptile asked.

"Because, Manda, this BOY killed an entire village. He needs to be killed, or we will have nobody to feed to you." the snake Sannin said in a huff

The snake nodded, and was soon impaled by a sliver of metal, **"Flay."** the boy said, ripping off Manda's skin, yet the snake didn't puff out of existance.

"_Silly boy, I am a snake, I can shed my skin._" the snake kindly informed him.

Stormbringer sighed, **"Silly snake, I am a god, I can shed your FLESH! DEEP FLAY!!"**it called, ripping Manda into shreds, blood everywhere.

There was no "poof", Manda lay in pieces, dead. Orochimaru was stunned, his most powerful summon lay dead.

"Kukuku, Naruto-kun," Orochimaru chuckled, "you have great potential. I hope you don't mind if I...TAKE YOUR BODY!!" he launched into hand seals, and turned into a snake.

Stormbringer looked on in disinterest at the illusionary world he was in, **"control."** Orochimaru suddenly turned rigid, and the world crumbled away.

The snake sannin lay defensless, **"Orochimaru, I hope you don't mind if I...TAKE YOUR SOUL!!" **Stormbringer stabbed his sword-form into the man's head, feeling over 20 souls flow into him, **"Weird. Oh well."** he moved onwards toward the mountain.

**"Call."** the blood-coated katana Yonshu used to carry appeared at Stormbringer's side, and was strapped onto his back.

* * *

Konoha's Hospital: 1:07PM

* * *

"What is that?" asked Tsunade, at the sight of a sleeping dragon at Tenten's side.

Tenten's eyes turned downwards, "That...he is...Naruto's Dragon. His name is Pyron."

At the mention of his name, the dragon awoke, and raised his head, **_"Where is Naruto-sama?"_** the dragon asked.

"Pyron," began Tenten, "Naruto-kun was taken over by...something...do you know what it is?"

Pyron suddenly began to mope, **_"Yes. Its name is Stormbringer, and it is the god inside of his sword. It took over his body that was made of metal. There...is no way to stop Stormbringer..."_**

"Wrong." a pale man said, holding a blade of the same black metal that Stormbringer was.

* * *

End of Leaves of Steel, Chapter 21

* * *

D A CHALLENGER HAS APPEARED! Bonus points to anyone who correctly identifies the new blade!

4 Days in Naruto's world left! (This doesn't mean I'll update once every day, mind you. It just means that V-techt just kicked in, y'all!)

-Johnhamsta


	22. Chapter 22

Alright! 22nd Chapter!

249 reviews, 64,000+ hits!

* * *

Sorry for making the last chapter so short. I'll do better this time...

Disclaimer! I. Don't. Own. Either. Naruto. Or. Elric! F-A-N-F-I-C-T-I-O-N!...ON WITH THE SHOW!

* * *

"Blah"-person speaking...'Blah'-person thinking...**"Blah"**-Demon speaking...**'Blah'**-Demon thinking..._"Blah"_-Memory speaking(they don't think)...**_'Blah'_**-Pyron speaking through mental pathways.

* * *

Konoha's Hospital: 1:08 PM

* * *

"This is the other." Elric stated, presenting the sword, "However, this blade is Stormbringer's brother. This blade contains the other side of the void, where all that is lost to it can be found again. All the power, all of the souls. Mournblade is its name. If only Naruto had found this sword instead...But alas, that did not come to pass."

Tsunade looked at the blade's black sheen, and its runes, seeming to call to her, "Elric, what exactly will this do?"

"Hopefully," began the pale man, "Mournblade can free Naruto."

_**'How can this be done, Elric-sama? I wish to see my master smile!'**_shouted the dragon.

"As do I, Pyron" agreed Tenten, "What must be done?"

Elric looked uncomfortable at the question, "Well..." he started, "It must be used to kill him, and free Stormbringer..." he said the last part, and tightened up, something a person would do after putting forth a motion to free a imprisoned God.

"BUT YOU CAN'T DO THAT!" yelled the Godaime, "HE'LL KILL US ALL!"

Elric paled, and began to tell them his plan.

* * *

That one mountain: 2:30PM

* * *

"Fish-face, we've got movement." one cloaked person said to the other.

"God damn it, fuckin' weasel, stop calling me that!" the other said in a whispered scream.

**"Hey, bitches."** a voice from behind them said.

The 'weasel' turned around with the 'fish-face', to see a boy standing defiantly in front of them.

**"Let me see if I remember that 'bingo book' thing...Uchiha Itachi?"** Stormbringer said, then looked at the other one, **"...Hoshigaki Kisame? I assume your ugly mug was the one worth QUITE a bit to the Mizukage?"**

"Kisame, now!" yelled Itachi, who dived into the ground.

Kisame swung his sword, Samehada, at the boy, who blocked with the blood-stained long-sword.

"What? I thought that Yonshu had tha-" Kisame was cut off by the boy lopping his head off.

Stormbringer stooped to pick up the sword, "3 down." his hand came into contact with the sword, which attempted to stab him with barbs.

The barbs crushed against his skin, into little stumps. Stormbringer shaved the stumps off the handle, and forced a large amount of his own metal into the blade. The dark steel infested the floor adding spikes to each scale, and serating the edges of each scale. The whole blade turned from a dull grey to a livid black, with green runes, coiling along the blade.

The blade released a dull grey glow, and was suddenly swung around, shaving through Itachi's side, and draining chakra from the wound.

Naruto threw the shark-blade into a tree as he swung the metal, that was still absorbing chakra, then withdrew the long-sword from his left hip, just below the God-sword itself. That blade was then sent into Itachi's Leg, severing it, and absorbing a large amount of blood.

Itachi gurgled with pain, and activated his Mangekyo sharingan, staring into Stormbringer's eyes.

* * *

Mangekyo Sharingan World

* * *

"Uzumaki Naruto," Itachi called out, "You are scheduled to have your Biju removed."

**"Sorry, Naruto isn't in at the moment...Actually, I have no idea where the little bugger is."** Stormbringer said with a sigh.

"Then I suppose I am speaking to Kyubi?" Itachi asked for clarification.

**"That is not the case either." **Stormbringer pointed out, **"You are speaking to a god, so mind your manners." **

"I don't believe in gods." Itachi said through his gritted teeth.

**"I'd start now."** Stormbringer said, as he slipped his sword-form through Itachi's eyes, killing him instantly, the genjutsu broken easily.

**"Best part about being a god? Infinite killing intent..."** the deity mumbled, as he ran Stormbringer through Kisame's body, and felt a surge of power.

**"This man had more of that 'chakra' stuff than Naruto did... neato..."** he said to himself, before draining the blood and chakra completely out of the two Akatsuki members.

Stormbringer remembered to alter Yonshu's old blade. Pushing Dark Steel through it, the blade configured to its old length, getting black streaks down the length of it, and spikes off the back of the blade.

He then attached it back in its place, below Stormbringer's name-sake, then put the new Samehada on his back, after covering it with a metal imitation of the sword's previous wrappings.

**"Souls,"** he tapped Zabuza's old sword that was changed to his new vessel, **"Blood,"** he tapped Yonshu's, **"And chakra."** he tapped Kisame's, **"I think I'm ready to take the Akatsuki out. But first..."** he stopped to pick up the two rings, **"I have some skeletons to make."**

* * *

Akatsuki's Hide-out: 4:15

* * *

"Sir?" a man with a venus fly-trap asked of a man with a pierced nose, along the bridge of the nasal appendage.

"Yes, Zetsu-san?" he asked in retaliation, "What is it?"

"Sir, Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame's rings have been removed, then placed on the same hand. On that hand is also the tenth ring, taken from Orochimaru."

"Well then, it would appear we have either an eager person, wanting to join, or a mass-murderer that gets off on killing the strongest people. I want him scouted, and even if you are attacked, send a picture, by means of Deidara's camera." the leader ordered.

"Yes sir! Deidara-san, let's go!" Zetsu called to a blond man 'playing' with clay.

"Ok! Should we bring Sasori no Danna too? We might need his 'art'...yeah..." Deidara said, pointing to a huge man in the corner.

"I thought I was going to get a break for getting the 1 tail, Sabaku no Gaara, just under a day ago! It's a good thing that Uzumaki Naruto, the 9-tailed biju, caused a distraction!" Sasori said agitatedly.

"We need you on this, and Zetsu?" the leader called, "Bring Tobi. He can get a ring."

A masked man jumped from the shadows, and struck a dynamic pose, "TOBI IS A GOOD BOY!" he shouted, as he flexed.

The other members paled.

* * *

Konoha: 7:00PM

* * *

Tsunade had finished handing out Konoha's most precious weapons to the surviving Ninja, including 2 of the seven swordsmen's blades. The first was a pair of short swords, captured from the dead Raiga. The second was a singular dagger, constantly emitting a bright red glow. These two weapons were given to Tenten and Hinata, the best at close-range taijutsu. Tsunade would be using a massive hammer she had made, that had its own chakra pathways, allowing her to channel her monster strength through the mighty weapon.

"Tenten, please teach Hinata how to use the dagger." Tsunade ordered.

"Tsunade," began Hinata, "I, for one, already know how to use the dagger."

"Oh, is that so?" Tsunade asked incredulously, "In that case, to test your skill, you will fight against Tenten, who will be armed with an ordinary kunai. Let us see if you are as good as you say you are."

Tenten immediatly left for the sparing ground, with the others in tow.

* * *

Konoha's Weapon Sparring Grounds: 7:20PM

* * *

Hinata fell into an improvised Jyuuken stance, and charged at the bun-haired girl.

Tenten effortlessly dodged, but failed to see Hinata slip underground with a combination of a Bunshin, a doton technique, and a henge. When she threw her kunai, attached to a string, she did not expect a miss, as it passed through the new head of the, now severely reduced, Hyuuga clan.

Hinata knew that her father was behind her physically, as well as being under her, in terms of clan status.

'My daughter has grown stronger than any Hyuuga before her. Only now am I proud of her.' thought Hiashi.

As Tenten jumped into the trees, she felt a sharp blow to her shoulder blade, cutting into the bone. Hinata had snuck up on her like a true ninja should, and sliced into her, the red chakra burning the wound.

Hinata, after hating Tenten for an incredible amount of time, entered a blood fury, and dug the blade into Tenten's back, again and again.

* * *

Inside Hinata's mindscape

* * *

A small mammal traveled from a certain sword, by means of the fulfillment of a contract, into a dagger, and now into Hinata's mind.

_"In a girl? AHA! She has a crush on the host of Stormbringer-sama! And...she wants power...power enough to take him for herself...I can give her that power..." the bunny thought, "FOR I AM BOUNCE!"_

* * *

Back in the sparring grounds: 7:23PM

* * *

Tsunade had to pull Hinata off Tenten, but she found this difficult. Hinata glowed with the same red energy that was commonly associated with Naruto. She was wildly stabbing, but it seemed as an art form. The goal was pain, not death. The cuts were shallow, but they curved once under the skin. Each cut burned itself closed once the blade had left. Then, Hinata had collapsed from exhaustion, much like Tenten had blacked out from the pain.

"I guess she knows how to use it..." Tsunade muttered.

* * *

Akatsuki Mountain: 8:07PM

* * *

Tobi jumped, "TOBI IS A GOOD BOY!!!!" he screamed, before letting out a different kind of scream as the God of the Void swung a blade with each hand, including a third hand, risen from his torso.

**"Kōton: TRIUMVIRATE!"**(For all you readers, that is the new thing for "Steel release")

The first was Stormbringer's body, the second was Yonshu's blade, and the third was Samehada. Poor Tobi...he didn't stand a chance. His body was first rid of a sword, then or its blood, then of its chakra, drying out and breaking the body like paper.

Zetsu snuck up behind him, but failed to notice the steel vines sneak up behind him. His darker side warned the lighter, but it was too late, the vines had spread beneath his skin.

"ZETSU-SAN!" yelled Deidara.

Alas, he was too late, **"Rend!"** Zetsu's bones shattered, **"Deep Flay!"**, and just like that, his skin was torn off, revealing, that, in fact, Zetsu's insides resembled that of an ear of corn.

Deidara did the unthinkable, he put one hand in a clay bag, and held the other towards Stormbringer. The clay was rolling through his body, up the left arm, across the chest, and into the right hand, where it was shot as a web, completly covering Stormbringer in a massive dome of C-3 strength clay.

"BOOM!" shouted Deidara.

Two explosions took place. The first was where the black-haired god once stood, the second was located in Deidara's heart. The resulting bang blasted Sasori away from his charge, and killed Deidara.

**"Pity, that."** a voice said from the smoke, **"His final attack didn't even mar my skin..."** Stormbringer stepped from the ruble, his clothes repairing themselves.

Sasori opened a scroll, and summoned every Puppet he had. This included the late Kazekage, as well as Sabaku no Gaara.

As Sasori affixed his strings, and had all the puppets attack, stoembringer said only one word, **"Phase"** the god disappeared.

Sasori looked around to see the god appear and disappear, again and again, each time stabbing a puppet where its soul used to be, draining chakra and souls.

Finally, Sasori looked at the Kazekage and Gaara, whose sand kept defending them. That was, until Stormbringer controlled the metal of the Kazekage's sand, forcing the Kazekage to destroy itself.

It was, at this point in time, that the puppet, formally known as Sabaku no Gaara let loose a tear. Latent energy flowed over him, and a massive wave of sand beat against Stormbringer. The area where the sand crashed against grew larger.

**"Kōton: Multi-size no jutsu"** Stormbringer now had the size of a god. From all that metal, absorbed previously, from all that highly compressed sand, he stood as tall as the Kyubi once had, and rivaled the bronze giant spoke about in history.

Sasori at once felt the pain of thousands of metal spikes, raining down from above, pierce his skin into that of a pincushion. Soon, a total of 5 rings adorned the hand of the god.

* * *

Naruto's Mindscape

* * *

The boy was huddled in a corner, crying, when he heard a voice,flowing from a far distance: _"Naruto, hang in there, we are coming for you. We need you to fight it. If you don't we will all die" "Naruto-kun..." **"Naruto-sama!"** "Naruto...-kun" "Naruto-baka" "Naruto-teme" _

In between all of these voices, he heard a call, levels above the rest, **"Naruto-san, I must stop my brother, only you can do it, only you can turn the tides of our eternal war."**

He wanted them to stay away, for, to him, it seemed that the swift wings of their desires would have shattered against the iron, no, the steel gates of the impossible.

* * *

End of Leaves of Steel, Chapter 22

* * *

...Woah...that end surprised me...Oh, and by the way, I don't own "The Red Badge of Courage"...fyi...

3 days left...

-Johnhamsta


	23. Chapter 23

Alright! 23rd Chapter!

256 reviews, 67,000+ hits!

* * *

Time to update. LET'S DO THIS!

Disclaimer! Based on old beliefs in europe, I don't own anything. Even this Fanfiction. For, if I were to claim it as mine, that would be stealing from some god or something...O.o...ON WITH THE STORY!

* * *

"Blah"-person speaking...'Blah'-person thinking...**"Blah"**-Demon speaking...**'Blah'**-Demon thinking..._"Blah"_-Memory speaking(they don't think)...**_'Blah'_**-Pyron speaking through mental pathways.

* * *

Leaves of Steel, Chapter 23

* * *

Hinata's Mindscape

* * *

_"Kill...Kill them all! Especially the girl! She took YOUR Naruto!..." _a voice kept urging Hinata to do this over and over again.

She was standing in her old familiar mind, a very rustic-looking meadow. The sun, a giant floating Naruto head, sent its rays of light all over her mind. Or, at least, that is what WOULD have been happening,if a giant Tenten-moon wasn't causing a solar eclipse, making all the flowers close their pale purple petals.

However, there was still one flower left in bloom. The odd thing was, it was black and red. The even odder thing was that it was easily the size of a house, with a shape on top of it.

"Who are you, and why do you keep telling me to kill everyone?!" the Heiress demanded with a yell.

The shape jumped down into the half-light, revealing it to be a small rabbit, who was grinning madly.

_"I, Hyuuga Hinata, am your own little demon. A lot like the Kyuubi you knew once resided in Naruto." _the rabbit said, before it ripped of a brown cloak, revealing giant demon wings, hulking claws, red fur, and gleaming black horns,_ "However, there is one difference between me and the Kyubi. I. Am. Not. Dead."_

Hinata was stunned, the Kyubi that once defended Naruto by healing him was gone, and now he could no longer be healed from the people that tried to hurt him.

_"Now, Hinata, we BOTH know that NAruto doesn't need to be defended! You saw what he did to the people in the stadium. In fact...You loved EVERY minute of it didn't you? You felt great pleasure at the sight of Naruto run his blade through your teacher's neck, watching it tear from her neck, and roll to the ground, where it was covered by her body. You loved seeing Neji hurled against the wall, and hear the sickening "Thud" that accompanied it! You loved sending a shadow clone to watch Neji DIE in the infirmary. And I know you secretly enjoyed stabbing an ANBU in the spine, as he went to help the others. But even worse, I know what you did AFTER all this happened." _the dark rabbit said, watching Hinata blush at each occurrence.

"What...I...did?" the pale girl asked, briefly switching back into the shy persona she once used.

_"Yes, what you did. In the Ichiraku Ramen stand, and above the stand, in Ayame's bathroom. The setup had to have taken a while, right? I mean, filling the bathtub with Ramen, and dumping the bodies in? Well, that was AFTER you had cut up both bodies, and toasted the entrails into little spirals. Their name escapes me at the...oh yes, NARUTO. Although, I must admit, you would have made one FINE demon, I might have even drafted you into my legion! You could have been the torture expert. You DID learn from the best, with your lessons with Ibiki Morino, The same teacher that taught Naruto how to use Metal, and the only man who knew of your plan for your beloved." _Bounce said again, leaning against the side of the flower, and cutting little spirals and hearts, which dried to a glowing green into its surface with his razor sharp claws.

"My plan...MY PLAN!" the girl yelled, a large smile across her face, and a blush as she listened to her new favorite critter orate her plan to her, even though she knew it, and was fantasizing about it.

_"Yes, your plan to sneak up on him, knock him out gently, then take him to the secret room you built underneath your room, sealed from any sound escaping. You would have him tied and strapped down. Then, you would take the only thing he could never get back, while giving him the same, on your part. And you would keep him there, until the ANBU can come and stop you. But of course, you could have any of them killed by that powerful jutsu you developed, the one that gives you COMPLETE control over ANY Hyuuga Branch Member, and can give them the strength of a Kage. Then you would proceed to brainwash Naruto, not changing that glowing personality of his, but changing his goal, from becoming Hokage, to being YOURS!" _the demon giggled, before taking on an air of seriousness, _"But then...Then..."_

He was interrupted by Hinata, who continued the story for him, "THEN THAT **WENCH** CAME ALONG! THAT **BITCH** TOOK NARUTO'S FIRST KISS, THEN STOLE HIM FOR HERSELF! SHE RUINED MY PLANS, SO I WILL RUIN HER LIFE TO WREAK VENGEANCE!" she then looked bounce in the eyes, "What can I do to help?" she asked, with a grin on her face, even though tears had been falling.

* * *

Akatsuki Mountain: Midnight

* * *

Stormbringer, in Naruto's body, ran through a wall, in a way a giant pitcher of a sugary beverage might, if it could move, and not spoil the delicious concoction inside of its GLASS skin. It ran through another stone wall, and finally reached a room, where a pair of giant hands rested. Stormbringer was now the size of Naruto again, finding it to be the most comfortable form.

**"Pardon me, but I believe that I am short one ring. Where is Zetsu's?"** Stormbringer asked the empty room, before a dark voice was heard behind him.

"My ring is right here, Stormbringer-sama!" a walking plant, devoid of green, spoke, handing it to the God on a tendril.

**"Ah, thank you. Zetsu."**Stormbringer replied, slipping the ring onto his left hand.

After the plant walked in, so did a skeleton with swirling red eyes, one with a giant fin as a spine, with actual gill-openings on the cheeks, a floating cylinder, and one with teeth in his hands.

A voice rang from the shadows, it was female, "And where is Tobi?" she asked.

**"He was not worth the time to use Necromancy on him. I left him for the buzzards. However, before I left, I took the chance to look under his mask. VERY interesting. I saw one Sharingan eye, on the right side, and one empty socket, where a poor medical transplant took place. I feel the need to announce that this "Tobi" of which you speak was none other than the 3rd member of Hatake Kakashi's team, "Uchiha Obito". I also believe, that the duress of you people, combined with the large rock crushing his skull, was responsible for him calling himself a "good boy". So, in essentiality, I killed two Uchiha today, and am waiting for the last one to come to me."** as he said this, Stormbringer materialized behind the woman, who raised a gleaming short-sword to defend herself, but was soon killed when a tendril of dark steel went through her temple, **"Koton: Headshot"** the god said, before slipping the ring, along with her sword, off and out of her hand.

**"Huh, she was one of the seven? interesting, well, 3 to go."** the god mumbled, as he channeled dark steel through the blade, causing it to exhume thousands of spinning blades around it., **"How...nifty..."** he muttered, making a holster for the sword on his left arm, and placed it in there.

Each of the other 3 blades emitted an even brighter glow than before, then settled down. Stormbringer rushed towards a giant statue, whose eyes immediatly opened.

"HAHA! You are caught in the sight, Uzumaki Naruto!" a voice called out, as a man, wielding a giant three-bladed scythe, jumped from a finger of the giant hand.

Stormbringer found he couldn't move, and that some latent chakra from Kyubi was being pulled out slowly. He sweat-dropped.

**"You call this a trap?"** Stormbringer asked, before staring the statue in the mouth, **"This, now, THIS IS A TRAP!"** the god shouted, before opening his void.

The statue was shattered in an instant, where all of the latent beasts sprung free. They assembled around Hidan angrily, and tore him to shreds with his own scythe. All of the beasts turned around to face Stormbringer.

**"Koton: Kyubi form!"** he called, and changed size and shape to match that of the great nine-tailed fox, where he then displayed his malevolent chakra, and smirked.

The God of the void held a massive version of his Soul-stealing body in his mouth, and flew, at speeds impossible to track, around the room, slitting the throats of each beast, and removing their heads, killing them.

**"All this power..."** the god said to himself, as he absorbed their chakra and souls in Naruto-form, **"FEELS GOOD!"** he yelled, as he shattered the mountain-top, showing the darkened skies.

At that moment, Kakazu and the Leader of the Akatsuki jumped at Stormbringer, and brought their hands together in a seal, "Akatsuki!: COMING DAWN!" they yelled in unison, as the clouds broke, and the clear light, caused by the sun accelerating in movement to the horizon, screwing up the balance of the world, showed clear in the sky.

Kakazu hit the ground as all five of his hearts, necessary for sacrifice, exploded. Stormbringer felt a small presence being pulled from his body, followed by 13 others.

His sword-body was separated in two, as Zabuza's blade pulled itself from it. Yonshu's blade, Kisame's Samehada, and the blue-haired women's short-sword all left his possession, to join the Leader's one gleaming long-sword, which wrapped the light around itself. The four other blades stuck in the ground, and the 9 Biju fused with his body. Finally, a small orange wisp flew into his skull, and pushed the large black one out.

Stormbringer felt lonely, like somebody important had left. Sudden;y, the body of the Leader shrunk, and his clothes took on an orange hue. His blond hair now gleamed. The boy's hand stretched out towards Kakazu, Hidan, and the blue-haired Woman. Their bodies rose once more, only to be joined by the other bodies of the Akatsuki, standing behind Naruto.

All of the members threw off their cloaks, and put on their rings, which unveiled red spirals on their chests.

The blond boy spoke in a proud voice, "Meet the Uzumaki"

* * *

End of Leaves of Steel, Chapter 23

* * *

O.o What in the name of Ramen did I just write? I don't own Kool-aid, General Foods does. O.o

I'm pretty sure this was written by

-Johnhamsta

,but we can't be certain...


	24. Chapter 24

After a month-long hiatus...I am pleased to say...

ALRIGHT! 24TH CHAPTER!

272 REVIEWS! ...7...7...HOLY CRAP! 74,000+ HITS! JESUS!

* * *

You all deserve this, the final chapter in the Leaves of Steel story. 

!oturaN nwo t'nod I !remialcsiD

* * *

"Blah"-person speaking...'Blah'-person thinking...**"Blah"**-Demon/God speaking...**'Blah'**-Demon/God thinking..._"Blah"_-Memory speaking(they don't think)..._**'Blah'**_-Pyron speaking through mental pathways.

* * *

Leaves of Steel, Chapter 24

* * *

Stormbringer's Mindscape

* * *

It was alone, deathly alone. The skeletons it had led; the demons it had raised from mere shades; the souls it had taken; the power of millennia gone, gone forever. 

Stormbringer felt weak. He took to wake, but took to waking slow.

* * *

Naruto's Mindscape

* * *

**"It's good to be back, Kit."**

**"IT'S GOOD TO BE, UZUMAKI!"**

**"...Ano...I thank you...Naruto Uzumaki"**

**"AHA! YOUR HUMAN YOUTH HAS SHOWN THROUGH AT LAST!"**

**"Now we may have our vengeance!"**

**"I suggest a sweeping attack, from left to right."**

**"Ahh...It is good to see all of us back again..."**

**"My Necromancy has shown itself in another person! Thank you!"**

**"THERE WILL BE BLOODSHED TONIGHT!"**

Nine, Eight, Seven, Six, Five, Four, Three, Two, and One. They were all there. The tailed beasts were ready for war.

Five Swords lay humming in the outside world; Two were mighty Zanbato. One was a bloody long-sword, all fresh blood clearly visible. One was a short sword, wisps that resembled miniscule swords spinning around it. The last was firmly grasped in the boy's hands, a gleaming white blade, the long-sword, its cross-guard bearing the same pattern as was found on the fated child's stomach: That of the curved triangle.

The boy woke.

* * *

Nearing the Mountain-Konoha Rescue Group

* * *

Currently comprised of the strongest remaining Ninja, most being Genin, as well as the most powerful mage the world will ever see, this group was led with a single intent: To bring the God of the Void back to earth, crashing at his knees. 

The weapons carried were of none less than epic quality. Tenten, Her buns clinging to her head with anticipation, wielded two swords that could be used to channel thunder and lighting. Another girl, Secretly plotting, carried a singular dagger, glowing red, with a faint carrot appearing on the blade.

The large-chested woman bore her hammer, a symbol of her power of Hokage. On their path, they were joined by the last remaining Sannin, Jiraya, who carried a large sword, bearing on it the head of a toad as its hilt. They were also joined by Anko Mitarashi, a special Jonin, who, as rumor would have it, just increased in strength, as a certain snake passed away.

Finally, an Albino, confident on his steed, galloped along side them, a package, wrapped with pitch-black silk, lay across his back. He was meditating over the deaths. One of which was that of his new-found love. He would take his vengeance, as he had wished to do the previous times it had happened. This time, was different, he had the means, motive, and was getting ever closer to the opportunity.

* * *

The mountain-lair

* * *

Naruto Uzumaki, finally freed from the God of the Void, saw the fresh light, felt the sweet wind, and then gazed upon the very thing that wanted to take it all away from him. He gazed upon the smoldering eyes of the Deity that wanted him dead. 

All nine voices in his head all resonated with the same creed:

**"Kill it."**

All the blades seem to resonate with the frequency that the demons were letting off with their though patterns, and agreed.

Then, a faint voice was heard, _**'Naruto-sama, I am coming to aid you!'**_

As the moon glittered its beacon of hope, Naruto, and his skeletons, comprised of the most powerful Shinobi in the world, rushed the God, with blades, teeth, claws, or whatever else they could get a hold on.

It was afraid, it had lost its steel, and it had lost its original body, where it couldn't be harmed.

As it raked its arm though Ex-zetsu's skull, it felt a blade enter its back, followed by 4 others. The First two were the Zanbatos, sticking through its shoulders. Then came the short-sword though the spinal cord's lower section, and the blood-stained long-sword through the upper portion. Finally, the gleaming Long-sword, as pure a white as the first snow-flake of winter, stabbed where the heart should be.

The beast chuckled, and ripped the heads off of the remaining skeletons. Naruto was alone.

**"Commendable effort, Mortal, but I am a GOD, I do not fall to mortal weapons!"**

Before the blond could answer, the God fell over, three new blades sticking out of its head, two jittery short-swords, and one gleaming red dagger, which landed STRAIGHT through its brain-analouge.

"STAY AWAY FROM MY NARUTO-KUN!" yelled two girls at once, before glaring at each other for a split second.

**"AAAAAAGH, IT BURNS!" **Stormbringer screamed, the blades expelling dormant chakra as if it were the end of the world.

Since the Seven Swords of the Seven Swordsmen did not have minds, they were not to know how right they were.

The fangs of the Snakes were stabbing the "joints" of the God. Manda, Chief summon of his kind, had his deeply invested in the right side of the Deity's neck. Anko stood to the north of the God, smirking.

The blades of the Frogs were piercing the "muscles" of the God. Gamabunta, Chief summon of his kind, had his knife though the left side of the Deity's neck. Jiraya stood to the south-east of the God, posing.

The acid of the Slugs were burning the "skin" of the God. Katsuyu, Chief summon of her kind, was blowing a stream of the most deadly acid known to the world straight through the Deity's voice-box. Tsunade stood to the south-west of the God, gripping her hammer with anticipation.

Naruto, now to the direct south of the God, behind it, had his hands in the symbol of the curved triangle; fingertips pressed together, with the thumbs underneath, pressed hard enough to collapse it. As he did this, glowing lines appeared between each of the summoners.

'What is Naruto doi- Oooo...Yondaime, you brilliant man, you." Jiraya snickered to himself.

Naruto's stomach glowed, and the blade of his long-sword took on the same characteristic.

His hair blond once more, freed from the grey of the God, began to wave in the air. **"Phase."** he called, bringing the seal to its final limit.

His hand burned with the intensity of the stars, the moon, and the sun, as he brought it down to his chest, before presenting his palm to the back of his burden, the God of the Void, Stormbringer, he who has devoured black holes.

"EVIL SEALING METHOD: **S**_O_**U**_L _**S**_E_**A**_L_"

The world seemed to flux around his hand, as he brought it to the back of the God's head. It was then transfixed by Hinata's blade, and the very _wind_ seemed to stop.

The dagger let out a weak glow, before it took on all the light of Naruto's hand.

-At the base of the mountain-

_**'Forgive me, Naruto-sama, but this will be my final gift to you.'**_

The dagger shattered into a million shards of iridescent light, as a lone figure appeared from the residue. It raised its hand, and, as if it was all coordinated, grabbed a falling dragon from the sky. The dragon was no longer a dragon, but a staff of such beauty, never before seen by the likes of man. At the head of the staff was the head of a dragon.

"Yo." Elric stated, his right hand clutching the staff, as his left held onto the black silk package, "Stormbringer, I hereby seal you back into your sword."

As he said these words, and pointed the staff towards the god, a glowing fire erupted from the dragon's head.

All Naruto could do was watch, as the fire consumed all. He could do nothing as Tenten was obliterated, her ashes following suit. He could do nothing as Anko, Jiraya, and Tsunade vanished from life. He could do nothing as Hinata ran to him, away from the blast, and attempted to kiss him, before turning to dust. He could do nothing as the God of the Void exploded. He could do nothing as his entire world was swallowed into shadow.

* * *

The Void

* * *

He was floating there, seemingly in shock, as the world he saw around him was empty, save for two people, and two swords. Only did he see Elric. 

"W-w-what happened here, E-elric?" The boy asked, stuttering.

"Well, it would appear as if we destroyed existence." The albino responded, his pale hand stroking his chin.

All of a sudden, two swords floated down to the pair. Both blades were of blackest black, and both were immortal.

"It would appear that we must fight, Naruto, and decide the fate of the world. A little large of a responsibility, but a responsibility none the less. Lets start." Elric said, a little omniscient.

"But what blade should I ta-" Naruto was about to ask.

"You should take Mournblade, as we need existence back. Only one of us will survive, and I've lived well past my years. This is saddening to think, but, perhaps, this will be Elric's final fight." his mentor spoke in a somber tone.

"H-hai." the boy stated uncertainly, grabbing the blade which didn't feel like it was going to murder him.

As soon as both blades were in their hands, it started. Elric and Naruto were forced to do battle until one was vanquished.

The battle seemed to stretch to infinity, as neither could stop, or remember how long they had been fighting. As the years passed, the pair battled, never stopping, and never hesitating. There was no sleep, and there was no food. There was no blood, and there was no sweat. There was no loser, and there was no winner. There was no tide, but there WAS Time.

Time still existed, and was watching the match fiercely. After another 80 years of watching, Time was still watching, before accidently moving a finger. That finger moved the "air" in the void ever so slightly, pushing Stormbringer to the right, ever so slightly. This allowed Mournblade to brush just a thread of the cloth that was the hilt of Stormbringer. That in turn pushed Elric back, and just the slightest off balance, where, when he swung again, Stormbringer was intercepted, and stabbed through the cross-guard. This crack extended to the tip of the sword.

Only Elric noticed it, 'Goodbye, Naruto, and may Lady Luck smile brightly forever upon your star-kissed head.'

He swung Stormbringer, with as much force as he could muster, directly at Mournblade, sending a ripple through the world.

Stormbringer shattered, and Time grinned, it was over.

Elric, after battling for centuries against his rival, fell to the void, a shard through his skull. As a single drop of blood leaked from the wound, life was born again.

**"Naruto, we have succeeded. The only thing I can offer you is a second chance at life, one not interfered with by either me or Stormbringer. Will you accept?"** Mournblade asked the weary Ninja.

"I have done things in my life that I cannot tolerate. If I am to have a second chance, I wish to remember nothing, and have only what I am made of, not this power, and not this knowledge. That is all I ask for." Naruto answered, with all the poise and dignity of one who has killed the universe.

**"Accepted. There is one I must ask, before any of this may happen. Time?"** the God stated.

_"You called?dellac uoY" _Time replied.deilper emiT

**"Can you do this one over? His genome should be a proper blueprint."** Mournblade requested.

_"Sure thing, just give me a while...Done!enoD...elihw a em evig tsuj ,gniht eruS" _Time answered.derewsna emiT

As simple as that, Naruto felt himself being pulled from existence. His life was to begin anew.

* * *

October 10th, day of the Kyubi's attack

* * *

The baby known as Uzumaki Naruto screamed, as the Kyubi was sealed inside him. As he did, however, a small flame found its way into the seal, setting his chakra aflame. 

The eyelids were forced open in pain, and, springing from his DNA, the first Tomoe of the Sharingan came spinning out into a red iris, before spinning back into a iris of blue.

He was later found unconscious by the Sandaime, by the corpse of the Kyubi, unharmed, in a pile of smoldering leaves.

* * *

End of Leaves of Steel.

* * *

That's all for this story! Look forward to the next epic from the amazing Johnhamsta! Please, if you have followed this story from beginning to end, "leave" a review! This was my first fanfic, so I'd like to know what you all thought! 

If anyone I know personally has read this, my feelings will be hurt if you DON'T review. This means you, Rogue Stallion, Hoyt, the-eighth-sin, Momo, Lily, etc.

-Johnhamsta


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